LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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UNITED STATES OE AMERICA, 



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SCHOOL INTEEESTS AND DUTIES 



DEVELOPED FROM PAGE'S "MUTUAL DUTIES OF 

PARENTS AND TEACHERS," FROM VARIOUS 

PUBLIC REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS, AND 

FROM THE BULLETINS OF THE 

NATIONAL BUREAU OF 

EDUCATION 



BY 



ROBERT M. KING 

INSTRUCTOR IN THE INDIANAPOLIS HIGH SCHOOL 




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NEW YORK . :. CINCINNATI • :• CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



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Copyright, 1894, by 
AMEEICAN^ BOOK COMPANY. 



SCH. INT. & DUT. 



B^rlnteb at 
TTbe JEcIectic ipress 
CincinnatL TO. S. H- 




CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Introdtjction 5 

I. Duties of Parents 11 

II. Duties of Teachers ,45 

III. Duties of School Officers 55 

IV. School Architecture 73 

V. School Hygiene . 105 

VI. Arbor Day Celebrations 123 

VII. The Dictionary, and How to Use It. . . . 147 

VIII. School Libraries 163 

IX. School Morals 181 

X. School Etiquette 191 

XI. School Celebrations and Observances - . . 207 

XII. The Teacher's Institute 239 

XIII. Teachers' Reading Circles 267 

XIV. Pupils' Reading Circles 289 

XV. The Teacher's Relation to Public Opinion . . 299 

Outlines of Reading Circle Work .... 319 
* 3 



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SCHOOL INTEEESTS AND DUTIES 



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INTRODUCTION 

In education as in government, in literature, in science, 
and in every phase of human experience, we profit by look- 
ing backward as well as forward. 

In every age there are men who stand forth in bold relief 
among their contemporaries, and leave their impress upon 
succeeding generations ; there are occasions which, though 
perhaps little known at the time, become historic because of 
their influence upon the future ; there are words of wisdom 
fitly spoken, which the people will not suffer, to die, but to 
which they will often- turn in succeeding years for sugges- 
tion, inspiration, and guidance. Such a man and such words 
are the inspiration of this volume. 

In 1838, the ninth meeting of the American Institute of 
Instruction was held at Newburyport, Massachusetts. The 
Institute was the precursor of the National Educational 
Association. It was made up, for the most part, of men 
from the New England States. In these days of easy and 
quick travel, thousands of men and women of the rank and 
file of the army of teachers gather each year at the National 
meetings ; at that time, only leaders undertook the journey 
to the place of conference. This meeting in Newburyport 
was attended by many men whose broad thinking and active 
efforts produced results of which we are gathering the 

5 



6 INTBODUCTION 

fruits to-day in better schools and better citizensMp. Among 
them Avere Horace Mann and David Perkins Page. 

Mr. Page was at this time in his twenty-eighth year, and 
was Principal of the English High School at ISTewburyport. 
He was already attracting attention by his ability as a 
teacher, and by his interest in his profession, and at this 
meeting he was honored with a prominent place on the pro- 
gramme of exercises. 

His theme, which grew out of the experiences of his own 
teaching, was The Mutual Duties of Parents and Teachers. 
His address was a manly plea for cooperation. He placed 
matters in a new light. There is an old saying, " As is the 
teacher, so is the school." True as this is, there is another 
equally true: "As is the community, so is the school." 
The school is a safe index to the s]3irit and advancement 
of the people. It had been customary, and too often still 
is customary, to throw upon the teacher the entire respon- 
sibility for the shortcomings of the school. Mr. Page 
revealed to parents the fact that the teacher also has a 
side to present, and even insisted that parents might be 
called upon for explanations and apologies. He said that 
there was nowhere, at that time, the cooperation between 
citizens and teachers which is necessary to the life of the 
good school. The speaker called the attention of parents 
for the first time publicly to their duties toward the teach- 
ers, and enumerated what he conceived to be the mutual 
duties of each. 

The address was heard with the greatest interest and 
enthusiasm. At its close, Horace Mann arose to commend 
it. He called it the greatest educational document ever read 
before the American Institute of Instruction. He went fur- 
ther, and declared it the greatest address on practical edu- 
cational matters ever delivered before any body of educators. 
He measured it by its probable influence in bringing about 
the cooperation that was so much desired. He admired it 
for its insistent boldness. To-day it would not be remarka- 



INTBODUCTION 7 

ble for that quality, but in 1838 it was a remarkable 
address. 

Its influence has fulfilled Mr. Mann's prediction. It has 
been a powerful agent in the advancement of the schools to 
their present position; and so long as there is need of 
cooperation in school work, the address should continue to 
live and exert its influence. 

Mr. Mann recognized the value of giving it widespread 
attention, and moved, at the close of his remarks, that 5000 
copies (a large number for those days) be printed and 
distributed by the Institute. The motion prevailed; and 
in the same year Ticknor, of Boston, published it. Only a 
few copies of the original pamphlet are now in existence. 
The copy from which extracts have been made for this book 
belongs to the daughter of Mr. Page. 

Since the time of the Newburyport meeting, a new factor 
has come into prominence in school affairs. In nearly all 
the States, the educational affairs are administered by school 
boards, trustees, directors, or committeemen, as they are 
variously named. In the early times, the school affairs were 
governed directly by the citizens, acting in town meeting or 
in some other way, or the management of the school was 
the minor duty of another oflicer; but it is now almost 
universally the custom to give its care to ofiicers chosen 
mainly for that purpose. Instead of its being a matter of 
cooperation between two parties, there are now three who 
must work together harmoniously and enthusiastically for 
the good of citizenship. To secure this cooperation where 
it does not exist, it is only necessary to point out its need 
and to suggest duties which may not be clear at first sight. 

If the parties to this mutual understanding have been 
increased in so important a measure, the subjects with which 
they have to deal have been vastly extended, as well. The 
common purpose, common understanding, and cordial coop- 
eration must be applied in our day to many phases of 
educational development which were unknown or little 



8 INTRODUCTION 

considered in the time of Page. To present these to the 
consideration of teachers, school officers, and parents is but 
to carry out to their logical conclusion the all-important 
suggestions of Page's remarkable address. 

This book has been prepared with a view to bringing 
down to the present date the doctrine of cooperation in 
school interests, with all that it implies of enlightened, 
harmonious, and effective work in the interests of popular 
education. This being its plan and purpose, the writer has 
drawn freely from all sources which have presented them- 
selves. The progress of the cause of popular education is 
nowhere more clearly shown than in the discussions of our 
leading teachers and in the various special reports and 
manuals issued from time to time by school officials and 
State departments of education. The extracts from the 
works of Longfellow, Whittier, Lowell, Emerson, Holmes, 
Aldrich, Lucy Larcom, and Bryant are used by permission 
of and special arrangement with the publishers, Messrs. 
Houghton, Mifflin & Co., and D. Appleton & Co. 

Acknowledgments are due to Chancellor Payne of the 
University of Nashville for permission to use extracts from 
his works in the chapter on Teachers' Institutes ; and to 
Commissioner Harris of the National Bureau of Education 
for the privilege of using material from the bulletins of the 
Bureau, especially in the chapters on School Architecture 
and School Hygiene. 

As the work has been compiled with a special view to the 
needs of Teachers' Reading Circles, it is divided into parts 
corresponding to the months of the Eeading Circle year and 
provided with Outlines of Keading Circle work. 

E. M. K. 

Indianapolis, March, 1895. 



DUTIES OF PARENTS 



CHAPTER I 
DUTIES OF PARENTS 1 

Need of Sympathy between Teachers and Parents. — The 

profession of the teacher is certainly an important one. It 
should be a happy one. Adverse influences ought to be 
removed, and the teacher left free to devise his own plans 
and to find his enjoyment in witnessing the success attend- 
ant on their execution. 

We would not ask for greater emolument — though, when 
we consider that the teacher's best years are spent in his 
duties, and after his best years are passed away an enlight- 
ened community usually judges him not only unfit for 
school-keeping but also unfit for anything else, we are con- 
strained to believe that the matter of compensation has been 
little enough considered. We would not ask for greater 
respect and attention. We believe that the instructor has 
received his share of these in proportion to his merits. 
But we would ask for sympathy — for soul-cheering sym- 
pathy — on the part of parents of those whom we are called 
to instruct. We would plead for their aid as far as they 
can assist us. With that, we could go to the work with at 
least some gleamings of encouragement. 

It is not our purpose to enter into a detailed enumeration 
of the difficulties of the teacher. It is sufficient for us to 
allege that a large part of them have their origin in the want 
of cooperation, or the misdirected influence of the parents. 

1 David P. Page (see Introd,, p, 5). 
11 



12 SCHOOL IJSfTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

Nor shall we labor on this occasion to arrange proofs of 
this position. It is a remark among teachers, as common 
as household words, that " teaching might be a delightful 
employment if one could take his pupils entirely out of the 
reach of their parents." The experience of those who have 
had charge of academies in the country, where the pupils 
chiefly were away from their own homes, goes to establish 
the same point ; and any one who has attentively watched 
the course of events in one of those important communities 
which we call a school district cannot have failed to draw 
the conclusion to which we have come. 

We would not advocate, however, the removal of the 
young from their parents for the purposes of education. 
We believe that the Creator has wisely established the 
family relation, and that it is our duty to draw out and ren- 
der available its uses, rather than, by extinction of the relar 
tion, to destroy its abuses. We believe that the child can 
be best educated among those of his own kindred, provided 
parents and teachers can by any means be made to under- 
stand one another's relative duties and obligations. 

Between parties who are so often brought into collision, it 
is highly desirable that there shall exist some well-defined, 
mutual understanding. In many of our public schools 
the usefulness of one teacher after another is effectually 
destroyed ; the youth suffering not only from the interrup- 
tion of their studies, but also from the angry looks and 
harsh words witnessed at home, and the parents, meantime, 
working themselves up into the exercise of bad feeling, 
where nothing is designed but good. 

They are often parents who feel sufficiently the impor- 
tance of education, whose impulses are sufficiently powerful, 
if only moved in the right direction, to carry them into the 
performance of every good word and work. They make, it 
may be, liberal provision for the support of their schools ; 
but, after all, the atmosphere is unhealthy. One sun after 
another rises upon them, only to raise the vapor and the 



DUTIES OF PARENTS 13 

mildew. Shorn of their beams, and robbed of their warmth, 
they go down in clouds and tempests, while the district over 
which they have passed is left in still greater darkness, and 
the chill and gloom of a winter's midnight yet hang over 
them. Why all this waste of strength, of money, and of 
talent ? Why so often must the teacher on the one hand 
and the parent on the other row in opposite directions ? 
Let us, for a few moments, inquire into the causes of the 
diflB.culty, and then we may hope better to adopt a preven- 
tion or devise a remedy. What, then, are some of the 
causes of misunderstanding between parents and teachers ? 

Causes of Misunderstanding. — 1. Parents do not suflB.- 
ciently feel the importance of schools. After all that has 
been said in our halls of legislation, in our political assem- 
blies, in our public journals, and in our pulpits, upon the 
importance to a free and independent people of a good 
education, there are many, very many, who have no ade- 
quate notion of its value. This lack of appreciation will 
show itself in many ways to make the duties of the teacher 
more arduous. One man keeps his son from the school on 
the slightest occasion ; another, in the same spirit, refuses to 
furnish the various facilities which the teacher may deem 
necessary for the prosecution of study. Now, while such 
is the state of feeling in the parent's mind, the business of 
instructing his child, who will most assuredly partake of 
his father's spirit, will be more arduous than the making 
of bricks and furnishing straw under the taskmasters of the 
Egyptian monarch. 

2. A false standard of excellence and attainment for our 
schools sometimes exists in the minds of parents. The 
standard of their own attainments and of the schools of 
their boyhood is put by many parents for the youth and 
schools of the present day. They seem not to reflect that 
a child, in order to maintain his comparative standing in 
society now, must know more than if he had lived fifty 
years ago. The progress in education — without claiming 



14 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

much for the "march of intellect" — having kept pace in 
some ratio with other things, the whole body of the people 
are more advanced. Having in view a standard so low, the 
parent grudgingly furnishes the books and apparatus which 
may be needed to carry his son beyond his own level. He 
sees no beauty or fitness in the plans and measures of the 
teacher, so unlike those of the instructor of his own early 
years. He has serious objection to all classification in the 
school, because, as he says, Jie studied " single handed " ; and 
he is unwilling that his child should be compelled by any 
such " machinery " to go beyond the limits prescribed in his 
own mind. 

3. There is often a suspicious spirit on the part of parents. 
So universally does this operate on the minds of some — 
induced, perhaps, by some failure or deception in a former 
teacher — that for weeks, in many districts, they seem to 
stand on the opposite side to watch for the appearance of 
some fault. It would seem to be their motto: "We will 
believe no good till we see it." The children, always ready 
imitators and quick of discernment, catch the same spirit, 
and watch for some imperfection, which they feel encouraged 
to report at home as soon as they see it or think they 
see it. Faults, and not excellences, make the first impres- 
sion, both at school and at home; and the teacher, under 
such circumstances, must be a wonderful man and wonder- 
fully fortunate if he can ever attain to a good degree of 
their confidence. If he does gain their confidence, it must 
be after long trial, patient effort, tried as by fire. 

4. There is sometimes a disposition to dictate. In New 
England, men have often some adroitness in various kinds 
of business. The farmer, for instance, if he be a true 
Yankee, may at the same time be a carpenter, a wheelwright, 
a shoemaker, and a blacksmith — for all his own purposes. 
If he does not operate in all these departments, he feels 
perfectly at liberty to direct how the work shall be per- 
formed for him. So most parents feel disposed to give les- 



DUTIES OFPABENTS 15 

sons to the schoolmaster. If they call a physician, he may 
administer to his patient either calomel or lobelia, as he 
chooses. But the teacher must first hear their direction in 
his profession. And the most unfortunate part of it is, that 
the dictation usually comes to the teacher through the pupil, 
who, by the time he delivers his message, has pretty thor- 
oughly imbibed the spirit of it. What part of it might be 
yielded by the parent is sure to be insisted on as a matter 
of right by the child. 

5. There is a want of personal acquaintance between the 
parties. Teachers in many of our schools spend months, 
and in some instances years, with youths whose parents 
they have never known. The parents, during this time, 
have probably formed their opinions of the teacher, per- 
haps have expressed them freely either for or against him, 
and yet have never spoken a word with him, and very likely 
may not even know him by sight. They can understand but 
little of his character, of his temper, of his interest in his 
school. All they can know of him is derived through their 
children — a knowledge which, to say the most for it, may 
be right or may be wrong. 

Let us not be understood to place all the causes of these 
evils at the door of the parents. We say it with sorrow — 
teachers have too often rendered themselves unworthy of 
the confidence and cooperation of parents. It must be 
admitted that the ofiice of the teacher has been filled not 
unfrequently with the personifications of indolence, selfish- 
ness, and imbecility. Men have sometimes entered upon 
the business of teaching from no higher motive than their 
incapacity to gain a livelihood in any other way. Through 
the supineness of school committees and the misdirected 
sympathy of some of their influential friends, there have 
been not a few men who have gained their situations by the 
paper qualifications which they carried in their pocket- 
books, and who, so far as usefulness in their schools was 
concerned, might as well have been themselves paper men. 



16 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

The regular (professional) teacher, too, may have his 
faults. He may have but little in his character which is 
attractive or conciliatory. He may be too self-sufficient, 
pedantic, or haughty. He may announce his plans without 
any apparent wish to explain them, should he be reasonably 
requested to do so. He may be an " off-side " man. If the 
people among whom he resides put the wheel in motion and 
excite the electric fluid, he may refuse to hold the conductor, 
and so no spark will be kindled. Should they bow in the 
street, he may set his face like flint and '^ let his course be 
right onward," and thus chill all their good feelings in the 
bud and seal up by a relentless frost all the fountains of 
mutual sociality. 

Where the foregoing causes exist, they must always pro- 
duce a most unhappy state of things ; and the teacher who 
attempts to go forward while they operate will most certainly 
rue the day when he first set out to teach. 

How to Avoid these Evils. — It is desirable that all should 
understand the means of avoiding these evils if they do not 
exist, or of removing them where they have gained a place. 
In education, as in all other things, prevention is better 
than cure. The teacher will therefore spare himself many 
pangs and secure the foundation of much usefulness if he 
can so conduct matters as to prevent the existence of any 
cause of difficulty between himself and the parents of his 
pupils. This business of prevention lies partly with the 
teacher and partly with the parents themselves. 

He should study faithfully and feelingly the relations he 
sustains to his pupils and to their friends ; he should care- 
fully perform every known duty in its time and after its 
manner, according to the dictates of his own conscience. 
Let him do this, and he can be happy in his own mind. Yet 
when he has done all he can do, the question of his success 
will depend very much upon the parents of his pupils. 
They must come forward and crown the work, or very much 
will be wanting after all. 



DUTIES OF PARENTS 17 

Let uSj tlien, devote a few pages to the consideration of 
the duties of parents. On entering this part of the subject, 
we feel an impulse to speak plainly and feelingly. It will 
be difficult to define all the duties of parents. It will be 
our object to speak of those which most strongly suggest 
themselves. 

Duties of Parents. — 1. Parents should reciprocate the at- 
tempts of the teacher toward a mutual understanding. It 
will discourage the most faithful instructor if, at the outset, 
he meets with coldness and unconcern. The parents should 
never forget that the teacher is their appointed coadjutor, 
for the time being, to educate their children. As they love 
their children and desire their advantage, so should they be 
ready to encourage all the advances which he may make 
towards the better understanding of their wishes and inten- 
tions, and the explanation of his plans. 

2. Parents should listen candidly to the plans of the 
teacher and, unless they are manifestly wrong, should do 
all in their power to aid him in the execution of them. We 
say, unless they are manifestly wrong. Many parents sup- 
pose that if a teacher's modes and plans are not the best — 
in their opinion the very best — they are under no obligation 
to help them forward. But we say that every teacher may 
not have the wisdom to devise abstractly the best plans, yet 
most likely such as he will devise will be the best for Mm. 
He has taken much time and, after long solicitude and many 
desires to be useful, he has fixed upon a course — one which, 
under all the circumstances, may seem to him the best. 

Now, suppose this course shall chance to strike the parents' 
minds unfavorably ; shall they at once abandon the teacher, 
give up all hopes of benefit from the school, and withdraw 
their cooperation? Is it not rather their duty either to 
suggest " a more excellent way " — which they may ever do 
if they have a right spirit — or to give their cooperation in 
carrying out his plans, such as they are ? The teacher, be 
it remembered, is appointed to conduct the school for a 

SCH. INT. & BUT. — 2 



18 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

time ; and unless his services and his plans, however inferior 
they may be, are rendered useful, the youths are, for the 
time, losers. 

Parents may be as particular as they please in the choice 
of their teacher, and in requiring the highest rate of qual- 
ifications ; but after they have accepted him as teacher they 
cannot, without a breach of contract, withhold from him 
their cooperation. If they have been imposed upon — if the 
incumbent is found to be absolutely incompetent — they 
may decently secure his dismissal and the appointment of 
another; but to continue in office a teacher in whom they 
have no confidence and whom they refuse to aid is a breach 
of good faith. It is an illustration of the maxim that " two 
wrongs can never make a right." 

As a general rule (we repeat it), the teacher's own plans 
will be found decidedly the best for him, and it is not good 
policy for parents upon slight cause to attempt an obtrusive 
interference. The right of adopting his own measures, as 
a general thing, should be conceded to the teacher, and all 
parents will find their own interests promoted and their 
children's advancement accelerated in cheerfully aiding him, 

3. Parents should thankfully listen to the teacher's faith- 
ful account of their children, even if that account be not a 
flattering one. We have before said that the teacher should 
be frank, always telling the parents the whole truth and 
nothing but the truth. This must sometimes be of itself an 
unpleasant duty. It is self-denying enough for the teacher 
to make an unfavorable statement demanded by his duty 
under the best circumstances, and the trial is peculiarly 
severe when the parent receives it with expressions of dis- 
pleasure or of undisguised reproach. Nothing should deter 
the teacher, however, from the faithful discharge of this 
duty ; and he has a just right to expect cordiality and grati- 
tude on the part of the parent for his faithfulness, whether 
his report be bright or dark. The good and wise parent 
will always exhibit them. 



DUTIES OF PARENTS 19 

4. Parents should visit tlie schools which their children 
attend. Without this they can have no very correct idea of 
the state of things in the schoolroom. Common report con- 
cerning the affairs of a school is not always correct. By 
visiting the school, parents can at once see, if the teacher 
is honest, the comparative standing of their children. 
They will become more interested in the objects and busi- 
ness of the school, and — what will be of infinite worth both 
to teacher and pupils — it will convince them all that the 
parents have some sense of the importance of the improve- 
ment made there. The pupils will be quickened to diligence 
and the teacher to activity and faithfulness. And is not the 
rate of purchase very low when the advantage is so great ? 

5. Parents should promptly and cheerfully supply the 
required books and apparatus for the school. The teacher 
cannot work without tools ; the parent ought not to expect 
it. If a parent has any doubt about the propriety of a call 
for a new book, he should at once see the teacher. Never 
should he send an uncivil or angry message by the child. 
An interview of five minutes may put the matter peaceably 
at rest, and save both parties much unpleasant feeling. 

Besides, schoolbooks are now less expensive than for- 
merly. The parent in most cases can better afford to buy a 
book than to spend his time in talking about it. Often the 
pupil loses more by a delay of one week than the value 
of the book many times told, for there is no estimating 
improvement by dollars and cents. We grant that an over- 
supply and too frequent changes of schoolbooks are a great 
and sore evil; but this, at least, is not the fault of the 
instructor. No good can possibly come of disputing a ques- 
tion with him which has been settled already by the school 
authorities. 

6. Parents should see that their children are decently 
clothed and cleanly in their persons. This duty belongs 
mainly to the mother, and her character may be very readily 
seen as reflected in the persons of her children. The 



20 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

teacher lias a right to expect of the parents the faithful 
performance of this duty. He ought not to be insulted with 
filthiness ; and surely he need not be, so long as soft water 
falls in rich abundance from the heavens, and a pair of 
scissors and a comb are possessed by every family. He 
can have no heart to come in contact with pupils who 
are sometimes so sadly neglected in this particular. This 
point, however, is so obvious that we need not waste 
words upon it. 

7. Parents are bound to secure the constant attendance 
of their children. This is no trifling article of their duty. 
Perhaps there is no one thing to be named which contrib- 
utes so largely to the perplexities of the teacher and to the 
injury of our public schools as irregular attendance. Eeal 
illness of the child is a good excuse for absence from school ; 
and perhaps we may add, in some instances, illness in the 
family. But beyond these, it seems to us, there can be no 
good reason for keeping a scholar from his school. It is 
discouraging to see for what trifling causes many of the 
children are kept away. 

Prequently it happens that some errand as trifling — if 
we may be allowed to be specific — as the purchase of a cent's 
worth of yeast is made the occasion of a half day's absence 
from school, occasioning thereby an injury to the child's 
mind which cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. Who 
can compute the amount of idle habits of study having their 
foundation in that indifference to education which, for some 
trifling errand, permits the child to be away from his class 
and thus practically teaches him to consider his school a 
very cheap affair ? 

Every school, if the teacher would lay out his strength to 
advantage, should be classified. The teacher's mind must 
act, as far as practicable, upon masses of mind. But irregu- 
larity of attendance is most ruinous to classification. A 
pupil absent one half the time is, to all intents and purposes 
of the school, absent all the time. One day he is absent, 



DUTIES OF PARENTS 21 

and, of course, loses all tliat clay's lessons; the next day lie 
is present, but is still deficient in his lessons, because, as lie 
says to his teaclier, " I was absent yesterday and, not know- 
ing where to study, I have not studied at all ! " Again he 
is absent — again he is present. The same result follows, 
and at the week's end he has learned nothing as it should 
be learned. Such is the effect upon the pupil himself. 

But the difficulty is not now half told. He is a member 
of the school — the teacher must consider him such; and as 
the parents of such pupils often make fair promises for the 
future, the teacher feefs bound to keep him, if possible, 
along with his class. To effect this, the class must be 
often put back on his account, which operates as a severe 
discouragement to them. 

Sometimes the instructor is obliged to devote particular 
attention to this pupil singly, by which the other pupils are 
robbed of the proportion of his time which is their due. 
They are, moreover, obliged to suffer an injury the most 
unpleasant of all. For when pupils who are always at their 
posts have learned their lessons well, it is cruel in the last 
degree that they should be deprived of the pleasure of show- 
ing their faithfulness — the pleasure of a good, recitation. 

ISTor is this all. The teacher, the unthought-of teacher, is 
not made of iron or brass. His patience being so frequently, 
so thoughtlessly, and so unnecessarily taxed and his best 
efforts being so ill-requited, he must, unless he is super- 
human, relax his exertions. He will find it next to impos- 
sible for a series of weeks or months, after having labored 
faithfully without success, to maintain his interest and his 
efficiency under all the discouraging circumstances of the 
case. As soon as his spirits flag, the whole school will 
imperceptibly catch the feeling, and they are all sufferers. 
This is not an extreme case. It is not a fancy picture. 
It is not speculation. It is history ! And I am sorry to be 
obliged to add, it is the exact history of most of our public 
schools ! 



22 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Can any wonder, then, that we earnestly urge that parents 
should cooperate with the teacher in this particular ? And 
shall it ever be that for some trifling errand which, by 
early rising, may be as well done long before school hours, 
or for some pretext originating in the imbecility or lack 
of forethought of our children's natural guardians — must 
it ever be that the teacher's life shall be a life of per- 
plexity, and the design of our public school system shall be 
so far frustrated ? 

What has been said of irregular attendance will apply 
with equal force to want of punctuality to the hour of open- 
ing the school. The reasons for tardiness are often more 
futile, if possible, than those for entire absence. The effects 
upon the school are nearly the same ; for the current proverb, 
" better late than never," will hardly hold in this case. But 
the effects of tardiness are more disastrous upon the child. 
He is allowed to be his own teacher of a most deleterious 
lesson. Let it never be forgotten that it is just as easy to 
be strictly punctual as otherwise, and the parent who will 
not lay the foundation of a habit so valuable in a child, 
when it can be done without cost, deserves not the privilege 
of being a parent. He betrays his trust ! He injures his 
own child! 

8. Parents should be slow to condemn the teacher for 
supposed faults. This is a point upon which many are apt 
to act wrongly. Too often is it the case that a teacher is 
tried and publicly condemned without even a hearing. 
Some troublesome, precocious youth, who has received, it 
may be very justly, some proportionate reward for his deeds, 
determines upon revenge. He immediately tells his story 
to any who will hear it. If his parents are inconsiderate 
and encourage him to go on, he is tempted to overreach the 
truth on the one hand, and to stop short of it on the other, 
till he succeeds in having the combustible material around 
him lighted into a flame. Such a fire is seldom kindled 
without most severely scathing somebody, and it sometimes 



DUTIES OF PABENTS 23 

happens that those most burned are they who apply the 
match and fan the flames. 

The truth is, few parents are capable of judging at the 
first blush upon the merits of a case which they have not 
witnessed. They have strong partialities in favor of the 
complainant. Then, too, they have but very inadequate 
views of the difiiculties — the untold and untellable difficul- 
ties — with which the teacher must daily contend. 

We undertake to say that parents often expect more of a 
teacher than he can possibly accomplish. They expect him 
to advance their children in learning, without making proper 
allowance for the difference of abilities which his pupils 
possess. Every parent wishes his son to be foremost in 
improvement, and he expects it, because he wishes it. At 
the same time, he expects the school to be a perfect pattern 
of good order, because in his family, where perhaps he has 
but one child, he has never known an insurmountable diffi- 
culty. He forgets that probably fifty other parents are 
expecting for their children as much as he for his, and that 
the teacher is laboring with a laudable ambition to do faith- 
fully all that can be expected of him with some three or 
four score of individuals whose tempers and capacities and 
habits are as different as their countenances. 

In judging of the teacher's government, the parent com- 
monly compares it with his own family discipline, because 
the family is the only community with which he is acquainted 
that is at all analogous to the school. He forgets, perhaps, 
his own recent fits of impatience even among his little circle 
of some half a dozen, and he wonders at the unrestrained 
and unrestrainable temper of the schoolmaster who, it is 
said, was not quite self-possessed in his school of a hundred. 

But the analogy does not hold between the family and 
the school. The parent has authority in the premises from 
which, to all intents, there is no appeal ; and the children 
know it. He has several rooms at his command for solitary 
confinement or for private reproof and reasoning. More- 



24 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

over, lie has the advantage of knowing perfectly the dis- 
position of each subject of his authority, and may always 
proceed advisedly in the adaptation of his discipline. He 
has ample leisure for the purpose ; for if his business be press- 
ing during the day, he can postpone the whole matter till 
the calm and silent hour of evening, when, unexcited and 
undisturbed, he may pursue his steady purpose. With all 
these advantages it would be strange if a parent could not 
govern his own household well and without much resort to 
the rod. The parent may well wonder at himself if he has 
not good discipline. 

But the case is not thus with the teacher. His authority 
in these latter days is somewhat questionable. He usually 
has but one room for his use, and that one often too small 
even for the pursuit of the more quiet duties of the school. 
He has no prison, and if he had, he has no authority to con- 
fine beyond his usual school hours. He has no allowances 
or provisions to dispense or withhold. He cannot, unless his 
discernment is supernatural, have a perfect knowledge of 
the disposition of each pupil. 

Hence he is, from the nature of the case, liable to mis- 
judgment in the adaptation of his means. He has no leisure. 
He must work all the time, for his reputation depends on 
his success in teaching. He is expected to advance each 
pupil daily. He has not the time to adjust all his measures 
by deliberate reflection. He cannot always put off the case. 
His little community probably may need the immediate check 
which the punishment will give. If he should neglect to 
work the pump, the ship would probably sink and bury him 
and his in the waves of insufferable confusion. Consider 
well the life of the teacher. He must apply himself con- 
stantly, and often to numberless things at the same time. We 
are told, I know, that the teacher should do but one thing at 
a time. But this is impossible. Two things he must always 
do at once — he must govern and instruct. He can never 
do the latter without having upon his mind the former. 



DUTIES OF PARENTS 25 

It is this double attention that makes his life a weary one. 
He might govern with comparative ease if his duty ended 
there. The instruction would be delightful if that could be 
pursued alone. But they must go together. With respect 
to the one, not a mistake must pass unnoticed. Every error 
in declension or conjugation, in orthography or calculation, 
in matter or manner, must be detected and set right ; and, at 
the same time, the stolen whisper must be heard, the clan- 
destine plaything must be captured, the incipient plot must 
be discovered, the arch trick must be anticipated, the idler 
must be watched, the wayward reproved and set right; and 
the stubborn and the impudent, the coarse and the turbu- 
lent, must be subdued. All these things must go together; 
they cannot be separated. 

Then, in ordinary schools, unforeseen perplexities will 
arise. One boy has lost his book ; another has left his at 
home ; another makes clamorous complaints of some injury 
done him by his neighbor ; a fourth is too warm, and opens 
the window ; a fifth is too cold, and immediately shuts it or 
applies to the teacher for liberty to do so. Add to these 
the perplexities occasioned by late attendance and frequent 
absence, to which we have before referred, and many other 
things not mentioned, and who can wonder that the teacher 
should sometimes be a little in doubt as to the best mode of 
procedure in his discipline ? 

We do not name these things to complain of our lot as 
teachers. That is the profession of our choice; but we 
name them to show why the parent should be slow in con- 
demning the teacher for supposed faults. 

9. We add but one thing more. Parents should give to 
teachers their sympathy. Some parents, ready to meet the 
requisite expenses of their children's tuition, ready to coop- 
erate with the teacher in all laudable plans and aims for the 
welfare of his pupils, are still lamentably deficient in this 
one Christian grace and virtue. They seem to have no con- 
ception that he has wants, like other men ; that time, with 



26 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

its free use and unfettered enjoyment, is also to him a 
blessed commodity ; that confinement within the four walls 
of a schoolroom, month after month, does not necessarily 
leave him no tastes to gratify beyond. They do not seem 
to realize that the teacher has nerves that need relaxation, 
languid pulses to be revived, and wasting strength to be 
renewed. 

We claim the sympathy — the spontaneous, grateful sym- 
pathy of the parents; sympathy for the perplexities, the 
toils, the nameless trials that overtask the mind, unnerve 
the frame, and wear down the strength of the studious, 
faithful teacher. 

Underestimation of the Teacher's Services. — It must be 
admitted that many persons estimate the services of the 
schoolmaster in very much the same way in which they 
estimate the services of the day-laborer in their employ. 
The man of business pays the clerk in the countingroom 
and the cartman on the wharf, and meets the term bill of 
his child's teacher, and in each case feels in his own mind 
alike absolved from further obligation. 

Obligation ! Obligation from a parent toward a teacher ! 
We have heard the word sneered at, the idea treated with 
contempt. But as there is no estimating the amount of good 
or evil influence upon the ductile mind of a child — extend- 
ing as it does through his boyhood, felt in his riper years, 
operating unseen upon the principles and habits of all after 
life, running into eternity — so there can be no estimating 
in mere dollars and cents the unspeakable value of a good 
teacher's services. No pecuniary emolument can ever can- 
cel the obligation, unf elt and unacknowledged though it may 
be, under which the parent comes to the teacher. 

The parent witnesses the expansion of the bud, the beau- 
tifying of the flower ; but the genial influences which oper- 
ate on these as the gentle dew and the blessed sunshine of 
heaven are wholly forgotten and overlooked. A hand is at 
work behind the scenes, and only the light of eternity can 



DUTIES OF PABENTS 27 

reveal to the astonished parent that the sim^ the shade, the 
imperceptible dew on the mind of his child were to be found 
in the unobtrusive workings — the judicious, persevering, 
faithful training — of the neglected teacher. 

There is something cheering and animating in the cordial- 
ity of soul which it is in the parents' power to exercise 
toward the instructor. If they have not time for the visita- 
tion of the school or qualifications for the examination of 
their children in their studies, they certainly have it in 
their power to do much to make the teacher's life a pleas- 
anter one. They can give to him some tokens of a kindly 
interest in his success, and of a willingness to cheer him 
along his toilsome way. Permit the teacher to see that his 
labors are appreciated, his duties and difficulties properly 
estimated, his plans cordially acquiesced in and promoted, 
his acts candidly judged, his faults fairly considered and 
heartily overlooked, and he would be ungrateful indeed 
should he not be willing to devote his strength to the last 
remnant of energy, to requite the confidence and answer 
the just expectations of those for whom he labors. 

Comment on Page's Speech. 

These are strong words, and, considering the fact that 
they were written by Mr. Page over fifty years ago, and 
that never before had the attention of parents been called 
publicly to their shortcomings, or an attempt made to 
awaken in them a sense of their responsibilities, they are 
bold ones. 

Their effect has been widespread. Parents have been 

quick to respond, and better schools, with higher general 

culture, have been the results of the part taken by parents 

in the development of educational systems. In place of the 

school with — 

" The warping floor, the battered seats, 

The jackknife's carved initial," 

and 

"The charcoal frescoes on the wall," 



28 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

we have tlie beautiful modern building, with its fine equip- 
ment, its handsomely furnished recitation rooms, its piano, 
its pictures, and its carefully kept grounds. These have 
come because the people have recognized how much they 
owe to the school, and how much influence these externals 
have on character. 

Nor is it only in the matter of externals that the influence 
of the people is felt. The man* may still be found who 
protests against his boy's being taught anything but read- 
ing, writing, and arithmetic ; but he is hard to find. The 
school curriculum, though far from perfect, is now left by 
the people in charge of the educational expert. Things are 
coming into the course of study that will give a " nudge '' 
towards "more life,'^ and those things which do not are 
being dropped. 

More than this, the people are demanding that the men 
and women who assume the great responsibility of leading 
the little ones into " more life " shall be fitted for the great 
trust by thorough training under experts at our universities 
and normal schools. 

Much of this steady advance is the natural advance of 
civilization, of course, but we owe much to Mr. Page and 
his colaborers for seeing to it that the school kept up with 
the rest of our institutions in this steady march. The 
change in the attitude of the people towards the school 
renders appropriate the mention of some things not men- 
tioned in Mr. Page's address, and I shall put down some 
statements here which teachers have often talked over, and 
which may have some good effect, I hope, in causing parents 
to view them as teachers do. 

Inadequate Compensation of Teachers. — Pirst, then, par- 
ents should lend their influence in favor of adequate 
compensation. The ]oay of teachers always has been inade- 
quate. The majority of teachers work a part of the year 
at a wage which, measured by the needs of the entire year, 
is pitifully meager. 



DUTIES OF PABENTS 29 

Every year hundreds of young men are forced out of the 
ranks of teachers in simple self-defense. Most of them take 
up teaching because they feel that it is the work to which 
they wish to bring the fire of their new zeal. Their enthu- 
siasm is dampened when they discover that their earnings 
will not permit their taking the necessary steps to make 
desired advancement in their chosen profession. 

It is true that there has been an advance in the matter 
of compensation within recent years ; but it has not ex- 
tended to the great body of the rank and file, and in few 
cases has it reached anything like the amounts secured by 
less labor and the exercise of less skill in other profes- 
sions. 

The agitation of the matter of compensation has had one 
result in a proposition for pensioning superannuated teachers. 
It has met with strong opposition from the teachers. All 
the educational journals and many prominent educators 
have protested warmly against pensions, and have declared 
that it will be better to give the teacher more pay. This 
will enable him to lay by something for the " rainy day." 
It will be infinitely better to pay him as much as his ser- 
vice demands than to pay him inadequately and then attempt 
to comfort his declining years with a meager pittance. It 
is believed that a pension system would cause a general 
depression in "^ tone," and would operate disastrously against 
the growth of professional spirit. 

It is constantly said that the reason teachers are poorly 
paid lies in themselves. Teachers must make themselves 
worthy of greater compensation, and then they will obtain it. 
This is good logic, and it has been listened to, as our uni- 
versities and normal schools bear witness. Their halls are 
crowded with young people who are fitting themselves for 
the great work of teaching by securing a higher education, 
by the study of pedagogic principles, by an inquiry into the 
laws of the mind's operations, by acquainting themselves 
with the history of education. They recognize the fact 



80 SCHOOL INTEREST S AND DUTIES 

that, if they would raise their work to the dignity of a 
" calling/' they must know more than the mere facts of the 
studies of the curriculum. 

Good primary teachers in the graded school, for instance, 
know that all the studies of the high school and the uni- 
versity are bound up in their work. They should be well 
and thoroughly educated, in order that they may clearly see 
" the end from the beginning." They must know far more. 
They must know the nature of the operations of the delicate 
and tender minds which form their material for work, and 
carefully avoid giving wrong habits of thought and fatal and 
erroneous impressions. What a responsibility rests upon 
the primary teachers ! 

What has been said of the training of primary teachers 
applies in a greater or less degree to teachers of every 
grade — to the specialists in the high school, and to the 
professors of the university. Teachers of all grades have 
felt the need of this training, and the standard of efiiciency 
grows higher every year. 

But now that the demand of teachers for better pay has 
been met with compliance, there seems to be no desire on 
the part of the public to advance salaries to the amounts 
deserved. There is an impression abroad that a salary of 
from $600.00 to $1200.00 is a comfortable income and an 
adequate compensation when given to the representative and 
professional teacher. It is forgotten that the lawyer or 
physician or other professional man who has spent as many 
years in preparation and in work is usually paid twice as 
much, or more. 

And it can be said to-day that one may become a success- 
ful lawyer or physician, viewed from the financial stand- 
point, with much less of special preparation than is required 
of the young man or young woman who desires to enter the 
teacher's profession. 

It is stated that back of the fee of the specialist is his 
" knowing how." Is not the work of the teacher that of the 



DUTIES OF PARENTS 31 

expert, too ? Should lie not be paid for tlie years of special 
training which, have fitted him to be a workman on that 
most delicate of materials, the human soul ? 

But the public still refuse to regard this work as that of 
a specialist. His salary is still fixed at figures based upon 
the idea that the teacher's work is the work of the common 
artisan. He is practically paid by the hour, and the num- 
ber of hours considered are only those actually occupied in 
hearing recitations and attending to the various duties of the 
schoolroom. 

Further, we do not believe that many parents realize the 
strain occasioned by teaching, the tax upon the nervous sys- 
tem which the daily worries of the schoolroom bring. The 
constant endeavor to give true and not false estimates of 
things, the effort to break habits of conduct and thought 
which would affect the future happiness of the children, 
and to impart new ones which will be the source of the joy 
and the peace of life correctly lived, — all these things enter 
into the daily working life of the true teacher. The neces- 
sities of the teacher are those of the man in professional 
life ; while, as has been said, he is paid, for the most part, 
as a common laborer. 

The mechanic's simple wants are usually adequately fur- 
nished by the wage he earns. His dress should be plain. 
He enjoys simple and inexpensive luxuries. But the teacher, 
if he wishes to use all the means which make for higher 
influences on children's lives, must dress so that his attire 
will not attract attention by its cheapness or coarseness. By 
this it is not meant that he must dress expensively, but he 
must attire himself with the simple elegance which will not 
call the attention to the clothing, but will conform to the 
professional position which he holds. 

Mention has been already made of the necessity of thor- 
ough professional training. Scores of teachers yearly spend 
all of the meager savings of their winter's hard work in 
maintaining themselves in the summer at some university 



32 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

or normal scliooL Tliis drain is hardly taken into consid- 
eration when salaries are arranged. 

Further, every live teacher feels the need of the contact 
with his fellow-workers, for which opportunity is given by 
the various educational associations of his town, his county, 
his State, and by the national meetings. It is of the greatest 
importance that he receive the impetus of these meetings 
with others engaged in the same high work ; that he hear 
the results of others' experience and research ; that he secure 
the uplift into clearer atmospheres of thought from the great 
leaders of the profession who are present. This is another 
fact that should be held in mind by the community when 
the matter of pay is under discussion. 

Another drain upon the resources of the teacher, little 
taken into account, is that occasioned by his library. The 
teacher must possess the best and freshest books. These 
must be books on professional subjects — books which pur- 
sue into their higher developments the lines of work he is 
engaged in teaching — and books of general literary culture. 

The teacher must know his subject. More than this, he 
must know how to present it. He must understand as well 
as possible the operations of the human mind. He must 
be acquainted with method, and profit by other teachers' 
devices. He must know the experiences of others in mat- 
ters of school management, in order that he may begin his 
work, not at the same level at which the masters of former 
generations began, but as nearly as possible where they left 
off. He must know the results of the latest child-study. 
His success as a teacher will depend upon how well he 
understands child-mind — and child-body, too ! Many help- 
ful words for his work he will find in the weekly or monthly 
educational journal for which he subscribes. There he finds 
the fresh results of the schoolroom's experiences, not yet 
crystallized into books, and educational intelligence of much 
value. 

Equally important with the professional side of his read- 



DUTIES OF PARENTS 33 

ing are his books of general culture. It is one of the greatest 
missions of the teacher to lead the child into the habit of 
reading. He must realize that, in the company of the great- 
est of earth, the child will but learn how to find himself. 
The teacher who does not attempt to impart the magic 
" Open, Sesame ! " which will unlock the doors of the King's 
Treasuries is unworthy the name. The only way to do this 
noble thing is to have the nobility of these true kings of 
men in one's own heart. As far as possible, the teacher 
must be Shakspeare and Milton, E-uskin and Tennyson, 
Emerson and Carlyle, Longfellow and Hawthorne. Can he 
dare to be without the culture of this great acquaintance- 
ship? 

To stimulate among teachers better and deeper habits of 
reading, and to give to the individual the enthusiasm which 
comes when a mass pursues a common end. Teachers' Eead- 
ing Circles have been formed in many States. It is a move- 
ment which has been productive of inestimable benefit. 
The aim of the promoters has been to increase the profes- 
sional spirit and enthusiasm, and also, where necessary, a 
sense of need of the culture which comes from the love of 
books. So there is usually made a selection of two books 
for each year's work, one relating to pedagogics, psychology, 
or school management, and the other either a masterpiece or- 
a collection of the writings of various authors upon a single 
topic, or of a similar character. 

The number engaged in this work is increasing every 
year. Those whose pay is so inadequate that they can do 
no more, aside from the expense of their special training, 
than to subscribe for an educational journal, are enabled to 
secure at low rate a good working library. 

The public demands trained teachers ; it demands (uncon^ 
sciously, perhaps) that they read the books of the profession 
and the books of general literature. It should keep in mind 
the needs of the teachers' libraries when it fixes, through its 
public servants, the amounts of their salaries. Parents must 

SCH. INT. & BUT. 3 



34 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

remember that if the children are to have the training which 
is to bring the greatest happiness, the teacher must be paid 
a sufficient amount to enable him to meet the expenditures 
necessary to put him in line with the best of his profession, 
and to bring him at least some of the comforts of life enjoyed 
by men in other professions who have given equal time and 
thought to their work. 

The town meeting in some States affords the patrons of 
the school a direct voice in this matter. Their votes may 
wield a powerful influence, if they realize the truth of what 
has been said, to bring about a better condition of affairs. 

But where the matter is in the hands of school boards 
or committees or trustees, as they may be variously called, 
they may still do a great good by creating a sentiment in 
the teachers' behalf, which will influence the board to act 
wisely ; or they can express strong disapproval of measures 
which will reduce his income. The board represents the 
sentiment of the community ; and if the community is inter- 
ested in the schools, competent teachers will be employed 
at adequate salaries. 

Need of Proper Environment. — Parents should exert their 
influence in favor of pleasant surroundings for the school. 
Environment is a sorely abused word. But it expresses 
best the things which make for character by their silent 
influence. Most of the impressions which mold lives come 
from the little-thought-of, silent things which we meet from 
day to day. 

Children reared in beautiful homes — beautiful because of 
their tidiness and cleanliness and the exercise of taste, rather 
than mere costliness — can little measure the influence of 
the lovely spirit of home in their lives, their desires and 
thoughts. From the beautiful atmosphere of home come 
the noblest and tenderest traits of noble and tender men, 
the sweetest and loveliest characteristics of sweet and lovely 
women. But the home rooftree shares with the school the 
immense responsibility of the early impressions. The child 



DUTIES OF PARENTS 35 

spends many hours of the most impressionable period of his 
life in the schoolroom and on its grounds. His waking 
moments are about equally divided between the home and 
the school. 

Are not, then, the surroundings of the school almost as 
important as those of the home itself ? Is it not possible 
that the effect of the beautiful home spirit may be effectu- 
ally destroyed by an ill-kept, squalid school ? Do not pupils 
who are obliged to spend hours each day in a room, the 
walls of which are blackened and defaced, or decorated with 
festoons of dusty cobwebs and with equally dusty charts or 
dirty blackboards, the desks scratched and defaced by the 
"jackknife's carved initial," the floor dusty and littered, 
this affording opportunity for the dissemination of disease 
germs — do not pupils who are subjected to these conditions 
take on the frowsy character of the place ? One finds them 
lounging in listless attitudes in their seats, with soiled 
clothing and begrimed knuckles. And too often is it true 
that these are but indications of a worse and deeper condi- 
tion, which is rapidly becoming a permanent state of soul. 
Character is being hurt ; souls are receiving fatal wounds. 

Of course, a great many things about such a school may 
and should be corrected by the teacher. He can have the 
dirty walls whitewashed, the floors scrubbed and the rubbish 
of the playground raked into a heap and burned. He can 
buy pictures at a reasonable cost, and in different ways may 
change the atmosphere of the place. 

The greater responsibility, however, rests with the par- 
ents. They must see that the building is comfortable and 
conveniently arranged, sanitary and pleasing architecturally. 
They must see to it that the site chosen has something to 
commend it other than that it is unfit for any other purpose. 
It should have a beautiful lawn and stately trees. The 
building, in its architecture and materials of construction, 
should compare favorably with the best residences and pub- 
lic edifices of the community. 



36 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

It is not to be expected that tlie taxpayers will fill them 
with marbles of Carrara or with specimens of Titians and 
Van Dycks ; yet they should bear in mind that they are pro- 
viding a home for their children, where they will receive 
impressions which will be a part of their lives, made plain 
in word, action, and manner. Nay, impressions which will 
have their imprint on character, which will last longer than 
earthly life, will be received there. 

In another place, the sanitary conditions of the school 
will be discussed further. It is sufficient to say here that 
parents must ever keep in mind their responsibility in this 
direction and cooperate with teachers and school officers to 
make the schoolhouse a place where health shall be con- 
served, and where only good impressions shall be received. 

Public Encouragement of School Celebrations. — Parents 
should endeavor to create a public spirit in connection with 
school celebrations. Exercises in which children take a 
prominent part are always interesting. We crowd the 
churches whenever the children of the church take charge 
of the exercises. We love to hear the little tots, in long 
white dresses, and with flowers in their dimpled fists, speak 
their pieces or sing their quavering solos. 

It would be well if we also had the same interest and 
enthusiasm in the exercises of the school. It would be well 
if the children were made to feel that what they do in the 
way of celebrating the anniversary of the birth of the 
Father of our Country, or in commemoration of one of our 
great bards, or in the simple exercises attending that noble 
act, the planting of a tree, is of enough interest to attract 
from their vocations the elders of the community. What 
an inspiration it is to the teacher and school to have the 
patrons leave their business and spend an afternoon at the 
school ! Nor are the exercises uninteresting or unimportant. 
If the parents would show their interest and lend the sanc- 
tion of their presence, many good lessons would be doubly 
efficacious. 



DUTIES OF PARENTS 37 

Nor are tlie cMldren the only ones benefited. For a case 
in point, let Arbor Day be cited, it being an occasion for 
public exercises on the campus. Who can say that the 
planting of a tree is an event interesting to a child only ? 
Every thoughtful man and woman sees in such a deed a 
deep significance. He who plants a tree is a friend of 
mankind. 

' ' He who plants a tree, 
He plants love ; 
Tents of coolness spreading out above 
Wayfarers he may not live to see. 
Gifts that grow are best ; 
Hands that bless are blest ; 
Plant : life does the rest. 
Heaven and earth help him who plants a tree, 
And his work its own reward shall be." 

The presence of the citizens on such an occasion is of 
inestimable value. Ought they not to open their eyes to 
the good they may do by making impressions which will 
bear fruit in nobility of character ? More than their presence 
is demanded of them. All the exercises incidental to the 
planting of the tree should not be left to the children, nor 
to the teacher or the trustees. This is a place for addresses 
by fathers and mothers, as well as songs and recitations by 
the children. Every Arbor Day programme should have a 
place for one or more than one of the leading citizens of the 
community who are not members of the board. 

The great opportunity of Arbor Day is the making for 
things high and noble and good in character. But in addi- 
tion to this, the gathering of the fathers and mothers on the 
school premises will afford opportunities for them to learn 
for themselves important facts concerning their school. The 
parents, on such occasions, will become better advised as to 
the site of the school. They will assure themselves that it 
is well-kept, well-drained, and healthful. They will see that 
the surrounding buildings are clean and are so kept that 



38 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

they do not impair health. They will investigate the water 
supply and see that the well is so situated that the water 
is not contaminated by cesspools, privies, and cemeteries. 
They will, or should, look to the lighting and ventilation of 
the schoolrooms. All these things and others should be 
matters of special investigation. If the fathers and mothers 
care for the life and health, they must see to it that the 
school surroundings are conducive to both. 

It is well to know if the schoolroom is neat. Is the floor 
dusty and bestrewn with scraps of paper ? Are books and 
papers in order ? Are the dictionaries open on the stands ? 
Are the globes permitted to be fingered? Are desks and 
walls defaced? Parents will find this a most excellent 
opportunity for quiet observation of the school's condition. 

There is to be mentioned another of the many benefits 
accruing to parents from the meeting on such occasions as 
those of Arbor Day. The assembly of the people is an 
important factor in the social life of the community. It is 
an occasion for the renewal of old acquaintanceship, and the 
formation of new attachments ; an opportunity for the hearty 
hand-clasp and the cordial word of cheer. The eye kindles 
with the spirit of good-fellowship, the heart glows with the 
kindly feelings aroused by the renewal of old ties. 

Such occasions are necessary to the social life of every 
community. The event, like mercy, is twice blessed ; it is 
an uplift to the community at large; it is of incalculable 
value to the children and the teacher of the school. 

Upon every Arbor Day there should be, besides the 
speech-making by the citizens, appropriate literary exercises 
by the school. The trees planted should be named. Here, 
in this corner of the ground, is the Washington elm ; yonder 
stands the Longfellow oak ; there, the Bryant maple. What 
beautiful impress can be made upon the hearts of the chil- 
dren by the serious dedication of noble trees to the memory 
of our great and noble souls, with whose spirits trees seem 
to have such a sacred and mysterious sympathy ! 



DUTIES OF PARENTS 39 

The writer well remembers the indescribable swelling of 
heart which he experienced when, as a boy, he superin- 
tended the careful setting of the Longfellow elm on the 
beautiful school campus, amid the solemn hush induced by 
the pervading spirit of the occasion. Heads were bared as 
the school and its visitors stood about until, when the cere- 
mony was completed, we sang, all joining, the Psalm of Life. 
Childish it may seem to some ; but one, at least, from the 
memory of that occasion alone believes that such an event 

" May teach you more of man^ 
Of moral evil and of good, 
Than all the sages can." 

If the parents will gather at the tree-planting, letting the 
children see that they see in it the beauty of associating 
noble lives with noble trees, learning lessons of patriotism 
and duty themselves, and that they recognize the " more " 
there is in it than the utilitarian result — high and noble as 
that is in itself — there will be a benefit to that community 
which will not end with that sun's going down, nor with the 
school year's end, but which will extend its influence in 
widening circles through the years. 

Besides the exercises attendant upon tree-planting, many 
similar occasions are as productive of good results, if sanc- 
tioned by the presence of the school patrons. Such are the 
celebration of authors' birthdays, flag-raisings. State days, 
celebrations peculiar to localities, and so forth. 

What beautiful, ennobling influences come from setting 
apart a day for the commemoration of some one of our 
national bards ! How respect and love for the flag are 
stimulated by making it the subject of serious and beautiful 
ceremonials ! How pride for our State and love for the 
great Union are fostered by the patriotic, soul-stirring 
speeches and music of State and National holidays ! 

Supervision of the Child's General Reading. — Parents 
should know the kind of books their children are reading. 



40 SCHOOL INTEEE8TS AND DUTIES 

Reference has been made already to tlie teacher's need of 
acquaintance with, books. One of the greatest blessings that 
can come to the child is the habit of reading good books. 
Nothing can make for culture and character like this. Noth- 
ing can be more harmful to the plastic nature of children 
than bad books. "I conceive," says Mr. Carlyle, 'Hhat 
books are like men's souls — divided into sheep and goats." 

Parents must know how necessary a thing it is that the 
children read only good books; how important it is that 
they early make the friendship of those great and simple 
men who have put down carefully and in an interesting 
manner their thoughts on life, its mysteries, its short- 
comings, and its glorious possibilities. These are sometimes 
told in an allegorical way, like the story of The Great Stone 
Face; sometimes these thoughts are crystallized into a 
beautiful poem, sometimes wrought out in a fascinating 
novel. 

Parents must see to it that the boys and girls learn to 
love to read of a beautiful life. How many men and women 
there are whose lives have been lovely, whose actions have 
been inspired by the thrill of great convictions, and who 
have been actuated by lofty philanthropic or patriotic mo- 
tives ! How many there are whose biographies have been 
preserved to be beacon lights for succeeding generations ! 

The children must be led in some way to approach with 
love the great kind souls who will speak to them so tenderly 
and strongly out of the pages of books. In this way more 
than in any other, I believe, will the children be brought to 
realize themselves and their possibilities. What end of edu- 
cation is more important than this ? Making the true, the 
beautiful, and the good of literature a part of the lives of 
the children is true education, is it not ? 

Our schoolmen have felt these things for a long time, and 
to-day we are beginning to realize some results of their 
endeavors. One of the best results is the Pupils' Reading 
Circles, which have been organized in many States. A 



DUTIES OF PARENTS 41 

nnmber of men and women in each of these States, organ- 
ized as a board of directors, have selected from the wealth 
of juvenile literature a number of books, each year. These 
are books of good reading, chosen as suitable for the various 
grades of the primary and grammar school departments, and 
sometimes also for the high school grades. These are of- 
fered always at low rates, and the result is that thousands 
of children are reading good, clean, and wholesome literature. 

The establishment of these Circles is having its effect on 
the fiber of their character; and the coming rulers of the 
nation are certain to prove its good effects. The whole 
Nation will be greatly benefited by this movement for good 
reading. Every year finds many thousands newly enrolled 
as members of these Pupils' Reading Circles. 

The father has here a good opportunity for helpfulness. 
If he will spend the small sum. necessary for the purchase 
of the books, and enjoy them with his boys and girls about 
the winter evening's blazing hearth, he will find, perhaps, 
much in them that will meet his needs as well as the chil- 
dren's. Wise men bestow their benediction upon him and 
them, and he will find, as they will, that " his heart is get- 
ting softer, his blood warmer, his brain quicker, and his 
spirit entering into Living Peace." Helping the children is 
just another way of helping ourselves. 

Many States have as yet no organization of this kind. 
Where such is the case, we hope the day will speedily come 
when there will be such an organization. In some States, 
however, public money is provided for school library pur- 
]ooses. This should be always utilized and expended with 
the greatest care. The selection should be in the hands of 
the teacher and a committee of patrons chosen on account 
of their fitness for the place. The member of the committee 
who " goes in for solid reading " should not be allowed to 
dictate the entire selection. His goodly share should be 
allowed. Neither must the member who argues for ^^ light 
reading " be permitted to have everything his way. 



42 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Above all, let the sort of book whicli is easily recognized 
by its mawkisli sentimentalism and its vicious style, and 
wMch. lias found its way into so many libraries, be shunned 
as mental poison. The books of lighter nature should have 
characters who are real men and women, real boys and girls, 
with the true manly and womanly traits and the real evil 
tendencies of life. In another chapter will be found further 
suggestions relative to books suitable for school libraries. 

Where there is no public money, the cooperation of teacher 
and parent should be exercised to provide funds by private 
enterprise and entertainments. In this way many schools 
have provided themselves with good working libraries, and 
with books of general culture. 

Let the people see that their schoolhouse is supplied with 
a well-filled bookcase, and then let them see to it that their 
teachers are qualified to whisper to the little eager ears the 
magic word which will unlock this wonderful treasure-house 
of books. 



n 

DUTIES OF TEACHERS 
DUTIES OF SCHOOL OFFICERS 



CHAPTER II 
DUTIES OF TEACHERS 

High Ideals. — The teaclier should imbue himself with 
a feeling of the importance of his work. If he would gain 
the confidence of his employers, he must be prepared to 
show them evidence of a living interest in his profession. 
But this cannot be shown unless it is deeply felt. In 
contemplating his duty, the teacher should form elevated 
conceptions of his sphere of action, and he should aim at 
nothing less than such an ascendency over the minds of 
his pupils as will enable him fitly to govern, to instruct, 
and to elevate them as moral beings. 

Intercourse with Parents. — He should seek frequent oppor- 
tunity for intercourse with the parents. Though the advances 
towards this point, by the strict rules of etiquette, should 
be made, it would seem, by the parents themselves, yet, 
as a general thing, taking the world as we find it, the 
teacher must take the lead. He must often introduce him- 
self uninvited to the people among whom he dwells, calling 
at their homes in the spirit of his vocation, and conversing 
with them freely about his duty to their children and to 
themselves. 

Every parent, of course, will feel bound to exercise cour- 
teous civility in his own house, and by an interview perhaps 
a difference of' opinion, a prejudice, or a suspicion may be 
removed, and the foundation of mutual good understanding 
and cordiality may be laid. It may be very useful to have 
an interview with such parents as have been disturbed by 

45 



46 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

some administration of discipline upon members of their 
families. 

Let us not be understood, however, to recommend that the 
teacher should ever go to the parent in a cringing, unmanly 
spirit. It would probably be far better that the parties 
should ever remain entire strangers than that their meeting 
should be an occasion of humiliating retraction on the side 
of the teacher. Neither should parents ever be allowed to 
expect that the teacher always will come, as a matter of 
duty, to their confessional. This is not our meaning. But 
the meeting of the parties as men, as gentlemen, as Chris- 
tians, as coadjutors, for the child's welfare, will always be 
attended with good results. 

The teacher should be willing to explain all his plans to 
the parents of his pupils. If they had implicit confidence in 
him and would readily and fully give him all the facilities 
for carrying forward his designs without explanation, then 
perhaps this direction might not be necessary. But as the 
world is, he cannot expect spontaneous confidence. They 
wish to know his designs, and it is best they should be 
informed. The readiest way for the teacher to interest 
them in the business of education will be to converse with 
them freely concerning the measures he intends to adopt. 
If his plans be judicious, he, of course, can show good reasons 
why they should be carried into effect. 

Parents are usually ready to listen to reason, when it is 
directed to the benefit of their children. Many a parent 
who, upon the first announcement of a measure in school, 
has stoutly opposed it would entertain a very different opin- 
ion after a little conversation with the teacher, and ever 
after would be most ready to countenance and to support it. 

It seems to us that a teacher may safely encourage inquiry 
into all his movements in school. There is an old saying (in 
our opinion a mischievous one) which enjoins it as a duty 
upon all to "tell no tales out of school." We see no objec- 
tion to the reverse of this. Why may not everything be 



DUTIES OF TEACHERS 47 

told, if told correctly ? Would it not do away with very 
much, of the existing suspicion already spoken of, if it were 
understood that there is no mystery about the school ? Let 
this be the case, and the teacher will be careful never to do 
anything or to say anything which he would not be willing 
to have related to the parents, or even to be witnessed by 
them. We would that the walls of our schoolrooms were 
transparent as you look inward, so that any individual unper- 
ceived might view with his own eyes the movements within. 
We believe that there has always been too much mystery 
within our schoolrooms, and the sooner we have daylight 
through them the better. 

In this connection it may be proper to suggest that the 
teacher should encourage the frequent visitation of his school 
by the parents of his pupils. When this takes place, let 
him be exceedingly careful that he does not in any instance 
deviate from his accustomed usage on their account. 

Truth and Frankness. — The teacher should be frank in 
all his representations to parents, concerning their children. 
This is a point upon which many teachers most lamentably 
err. In this, as in every other case, "honesty is the best 
policy." If an instructor informs a parent, during the term, 
that his son is making rapid progress, or, as the phrase is, 
" doing very well," he excites in him high expectations ; and 
if, at the end of the term, it turns out otherwise, the parent, 
with much justice, may be expected to load him with censure 
instead of praise. 

Let a particular answer, and a true one, always be given 
to the inquiry, " How does my son get along ? " The parent 
has a right to know, and the teacher has no right to disguise 
any of the facts. Sometimes teachers of private schools 
fear the loss of a pupil, and therefore use some indefinite 
expression, which, however, the doting parent is usually 
ready to interpret to his child's advantage. But sooner or 
later the truth will appear ; and when the teacher is once 
convicted of misrepresentation in this particular, there is 



48 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

rarely any forgiveness for liim. For tliis reason, and for 
Ms own love of truth, for his own reputation, and for the 
child's welfare, he should keep nothing back. Tell the 
whole story plainly and frankly, and the father, if he be a 
gentleman, will thank you for your faithfulness to him ; and 
if he have any sense of justice, he will be ready to cooperate 
with you for his child's improvement. 

The main duties which the teacher directly owes to the 
parent we think we have now noticed. He should study 
faithfully and feelingly the relations he sustains to his 
pupils and their parents ; he should carefully perform every 
known duty in its time and its manner, according to the 
dictates of his own conscience. Let him do this, and he 
will be happy. Yet when he has done all he can do, the 
question of his success will depend very much upon the 
parents of his i^upils. They must come forward and crown 
the work, or very much will, after all, be wanting. 

Comment on Page's Speech 

It will be understood that Mr. Page, in his address, has 
pointed out only the relative duties of the teacher. He has 
before him all the time the idea of cooperation, and there- 
fore it is only the mutual duties of each class that are de- 
fined. A discussion of the teacher's absolute duties would, 
of course, open up the whole subject of pedagogics. In 
addition to what Mr. Page has said so admirably, a few 
supplementary remarks are here appended. 

Tact. — In maintaining satisfactory relations with the par- 
ents of the community, the teacher^ will find much need 
of tact. Especially will this be the case in many communi- 



1 The word teacher is here intended to include the principal of a graded 
school, who is really the principal teacher. The superintendent in a sys- 
tem of city schools is to be considered rather an officer of the school 
board than a member of the corps of teachers. The words prmcipa^ and 
supenntendent are often used interchangeably in the West. When the 



DUTIES OF TEACHERS 49 

ties^ wlien, as Mr. Page advises, the teacher has "imbued 
himself with a feeling of the importance of his work." This 
feeling, which every true teacher possesses, will lead him 
to avail himself of all the training for his high ofiB.ce that 
his time, means, and opportunity will permit. It will cause 
him to feel that his educational journal is a necessity. It 
will prompt him to procure and read books on pedagogics 
and school management. It will cause him to acquaint 
himself more fully with the master minds of the great 
literary world. It will lead him into the State Teachers' 
Reading Circle. It will send him to the university or to 
the normal school. He will not dare to come before pupils 
upon whom, he realizes, he is to make impressions which 
will last to eternity, unless he has availed himself of 
every possible aid within reach. 

It is true, as Mr. Page remarks, that all this will inspire 
in his employers confidence in his abilities. But if he 
wishes to put into practice the ideas of method which he 
has received at the normal school, or which, as a result of 
his training, he has been able to work out for himself — if 
he wishes to put these into practice in a community in 
which the schools have not been in touch with the advanc- 
ing thought of the educational world, I am sure there will 
be need for the greatest degree of tact. He wishes to use 
clay modeling, perhaps. It may be that he wishes to throw 
geography and history together, and so gain time in his 
work. Perhaps it is some form of manual training that he 
wishes to add. Perhaps he insists that spelling must be 
more than the memorizing of words of whose meaning the 
child has no more conception than of differential calculus. 

aggregate enrollment of pupils is 1200 or more, there is need for a city 
superintendent, whose work is materially different from that of the prin- 
cipal of a graded school. The relations of the city school superintendent 
to the principals and teachers are discussed in books on school supervision. 
The county superintendent, like the city superintendent, is a school officer 
rather than a teacher, and is to be considered as the representative of a 
board of education. 

SCH. INT. & DUT. — 4 



50 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

It may be that he wishes to provide on his programme a 
place for music and drawing. 

He will find, in many school districts and towns, that 
unless he acts with great tact and discretion, there will be 
much looking askance at his innovations. By a wise pro- 
cedure, he may bring the greater part of the community to 
see that he is not chasing " fads," but is really introducing 
into the school the things that will tend to its improvement 
and the good of the children. 

Many a teacher, full of the enthusiasm of his high call- 
ing, has applied himself with much vigor to bringing about 
a revolution in the educational life of his school. Starting 
in with the confidence of the people, he has quickly turned 
their confidence to suspicion by attacking the old methods 
with sharp criticism. Unwittingly, he has struck at the 
pride of the community, which may be loth to be told of its 
ignorance and its ultra conservatism. More is accomplished 
by gentlemanly courtesy than by blustering or by stubborn- 
ness. It is better to go slowly and obtain what you want 
than to demand it quickly and fail to get it at all. 

The Teacher an Adviser. — The teacher should be compe- 
tent to give advice on every matter relating to the school. 
He should fully acquaint himself with its material and edu- 
cational needs. He should become familiar with the leading 
principles of school architecture, lighting, heating, and ven- 
tilation, according to later authorities on these subjects. 
Unfortunately, these are matters upon which many who 
have been long engaged in educational work have but a 
very limited knowledge. 

A teacher's thorough acquaintance with the requirements 
of good text-books, and with the comparative merits of 
various books in the same lines of work, will add to the 
confidence which the school ofiicer will repose in his judg- 
ment. This is a matter upon which the actual teacher, of 
all persons, should be competent to pass judgment in the 
light of experience. 



DUTIES OF TEACHERS 51 

It is inevitable that text-books will be changed, from time 
to time. The change should be made always for a better 
and more suitable work. It should never be made without 
a careful investigation and comparison of the books under 
consideration. 

The teacher should be a competent judge of suitable books 
for the general reading of children. The subject of school 
libraries and Pupils' Reading Circles is discussed elsewhere 
in this volume. The enterprising teacher will not fail to 
interest himself in the matter of a local supply of accessible 
and suitable books of general reading for the young. 

The Teacher's Relations to School Officers. — The teacher 
should well understand his relation to the school officers. 
In the following cha|)ter the history of the school officer is 
given, and his relations to the teacher are discussed. The 
question of the relation of the two is not clearly defined, as 
yet, by the legislatures and courts. It is recognized that 
the teacher has authority derived from other sources than 
the officer or the school board, but the scope of his authority 
independent of that which the trustee or the board confers 
upon him is not clearly defined. 

It is well for the teacher to understand as. clearly as he 
can his rights under the law, and his independent authority. 
It is not meant to be said that he must be a lawyer, but he 
should acquaint himself with the records in cases which touch 
upon this subject. There are several journals now published 
which make a point of presenting digests of all such cases. 
By a study of these, he can bring himself to a position 
where he can render unto the trustees the things that are 
theirs, and reserve for himself the things that are his own. 

In all this there is no thought of encouraging or suggest- 
ing an attitude of opposition, or of defiance to the board. 
It must be clearly understood that this is not what is meant. 
On the contrary, the teacher should always yield a willing 
and ready obedience to the school board. In all matters of 
general management the directions of the trustees are to be 



52 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

followed most implicitly, in so far, of course, as tliey do not 
violate the conscientious scruples of the teacher. 

It is possible to secure the best results only when the 
school officers and the teacher are acting in hearty accord. 
The teacher's opinion should be asked (since he is an expert, 
or is supposed to be), in determining the final action of the 
board on matters which have a direct bearing on the educar 
tional side of its duties. 

In this connection it should be said that, in a way not in- 
consistent with self-respect, the teacher should show respect 
to the trustee, as such, even though the latter be not the 
equal of the teacher socially and in point of culture. There 
is, of course, a kind of respect which is naturally shown for 
the man to whom one owes his place, and upon whose favor 
" bread and butter," perhaps, depends. But, it is insisted, 
respect is due to his position as an officer of the school dis- 
trict or city, aside from any selfish show of respect for 
an employer. This is a fact often lost sight of by young 
teachers, and sometimes by older ones. 

It is often the case that the trustee is inferior in point of 
scholarship. He may be unlettered, indeed, and may be a 
good officer for all that. More often than otherwise it is 
the case that the trustee is selected on account of other 
qualifications than those of scholarship. Men of little or no 
erudition have fought their way to the front in spite of diffi- 
culties. They often make very good officers, because they 
are eager to do what they can to remove obstacles from the 
paths of the young people coming to manhood under more 
favorable circumstances. They may be good managers in 
matters of finance. Public funds should receive more care 
and should be regarded more sacredly than private capital. 
Too often men are extremely reckless in the disbursement 
or investment of public moneys, acting under a strange 
notion that when the owner is the many the trust is not at 
all so sacred as when the owner is a single person or a small 
number of persons acting as a company. Men of this class 



DUTIES OF TEACHERS 53 

slioiild have no place on tlie school board. Very often school 
committeemen are selected who will be sure to handle with 
proper care the people's money. 

Again, it may be that persons of recognized tact and skill in 
molding opinion are for this specific reason selected as trus- 
tees. These are usually gentlemen of long experience and 
sagacious insight, and they are expected to bring to bear upon 
the important affairs of the school the same critical judgment 
which they have been observed to display in the management 
of private affairs and the direction of public movements. 
The point we wish to make is, that there is usually a good 
reason behind the elevation of every man who is selected by 
the community to take charge of the affairs of the school. 

Teachers sometimes lose sight of the fact that the officers 
are selected for the foregoing and other similar reasons. 
Before them rises the idea that scholarship' is the essential 
attribute of the good trustee. Especially is this the case 
with the younger teachers, who are not apt to think much 
of other reasons for the choosing of officers. They are in- 
clined to think that the business men and the professional 
men not trained in the university can have none but old- 
fashioned educational ideas. 

The scholar should be on the board, it is true. His broad 
view will work out clearly the ends to be accomplished, by 
shaping the course aright. He can show that the truest econ- 
omy does not lie always in the direction of the least expendi- 
ture. But others than the scholar may be educated too. I 
have met many men who have had no conception of Greek 
roots, and who could not analyze a simple flower, but who 
have had a sufficient degree of culture to recognize the literary 
beauty, as well as to feel the moral uplift, of the twenty- 
third Psalm, and to whom 

— ' ' The meanest flower tliat blooms can give 
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears." 

Are such men out of place on the school committee ? 



54 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Whether the trustee be educated or not, whether he be a 
scholar or not, whether he be or be not a man of financial 
and executive ability or a man of influential standing, the 
teacher owes him a respect as an officer and as the repre- 
sentative of the people. It is pleasant to see added to such 
respect the warmth of personal friendship and regard. 

Many teachers find themselves in an attitude of opposi- 
tion to the board when it is entirely unnecessary that such 
should be the case. Principals who possess little tact, who 
regard the views of the trustees as of no importance, and, 
without really stopping to consider them, condemn them be- 
forehand because they do not conform to the notions of their 
own pet theorists or to the supposed principles of their latest 
and best-varnished hobbies, come into collision with the 
board very soon; and usually it is not the board that is 
injured by the contact. 

It is true, too true, that teachers are sometimes apt to be 
ardent supporters of the latest fad. We mount a fresh hobby 
periodically, and from what we consider to be its lofty elevar 
tion, we cannot see that the broad common sense of the 
practical school men would have given us a better lift, had 
we permitted them, and that, after much hard spurring, we 
have not been able to get past the starting post. 



CHAPTER III 

DUTIES OF SCHOOL OFFICERS 

Absolute and Relative Duties. — The absolute duties of 
scliool officers are definitely laid down in the statute books. 
Direction is there given them to raise money for school pur- 
poses, to erect suitable buildings, to employ teachers, and, 
generally, to oversee the operations of the school. These 
duties are performed often with a perfunctory reference 
to the position and not with the idea of rendering a service 
to the community and the State by providing the best 
means for the education of the youth. 

With this latter view in mind, many duties which seemed 
absolute become relative, and the school officer sees that 
there is need of cooperation with parent and teacher to 
secure the best results. It is with a view of pointing out 
some of these mutual duties that this chapter is written. 

The school officer is comparatively a new creation. The 
change in the management of schools gave rise to his office. 
In former years, each schoolmaster was proprietor of his 
school. Each school was independent of every other school, 
and was supported by tuition charges. 

When the system of free schools was established, it became 
necessary to have the people represented by a trustee or a 
board of trustees. Before the institution of this office, but 
after the control of the school had passed from the direct 
charge of the patrons, its duties were incidentally per- 
formed by other officers of the town. The earliest record 
we have of a school committee in the United States is in the 

55 



56 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Massacliiisetts law of 1826, wMcli provided that the towns 
of that State should select them. 

The School Officer and the Teacher. — The school, it must 
be remembered, is a very ancient institution. We have 
records of English schools which extend backward to the 
time of Edward III., while the early schools and famous 
teachers of Judea and Egypt and Greece and Eome are 
familiar to all readers of history. 

The teacher, therefore, had acquired a distinct legal 
status long before the creation of the school ofl&cer. Defi- 
nite and clear rights had become his by decisions of courts 
in matters of controversy, and by long-continued usage. 
These rights and powers are now his rather by a sort of 
educational common law than by statutory enactment ; and 
they exist independently of the authority of the trustee. 
An erroneous idea is prevalent that the teacher derives all 
the authority he has from the officer who employs him. 

The distinction between the powers and duties of each are 
very clearly set forth in an excellent address read by Supt. A. P. 
Marble, formerly of Worcester, Mass., now of Omaha, Neb., 
before the Department of Superintendence of the National 
Educational Association at its Washington meeting, in 1877. 

Superintendent Marble says : " There is the same distinc- 
tion between the two as between the common law and the 
code, as I understand it ; the same as between the constitution 
of England, which is known through a body of precedents, 
and the Constitution of this country, which is a written 
document ; the same distinction which is found between the 
officers of an ancient monarchy, who find their powers in 
long-established usage, and the officers of a new republic, 
where the duty of each officer is specifically defined by law. 

"My idea of the relation between the teacher and the 
school officer may be still further illustrated by the author- 
ity of the State, as compared with the National Government. 
The State is a sovereignty; but in entering the Federal 
Government and becoming a part of one great Nation, the 



DUTIES OF SCHOOL OFFICERS 57 

State has surrendered a specific part of that general and 
undefined power called sovereignty. If we inquire what 
are the powers of the Federal Government, we must seek 
them in the Constitution. If we seek to know what a State 
may do, we find nothing definite ; everything which a sov- 
ereign power ntay do belongs to the State to do, except 
what has been surrendered in the National Constitution. 

" In like manner the powers and duties of the teacher in 
the public schools include everything that is inherent in the 
office of teacher, in the broad understanding of that term 
which we have from tradition; and the exceptions to this 
broad and general authority of the teacher are found in the 
specific laws, and what belongs to them by implication, 
which prescribe certain powers and duties to school officers. 

" The modern public school teacher is the traditional 
teacher shorn of certain functions which have been by 
specific laws imposed upon the school officer. We find the 
authority and duty of the teacher by subtraction — by elim- 
inating from the general notion of what belongs to the 
teacher all that has been assigned to the school officer. We 
find the authority and duty of the school officer, on the 
other hand, by addition — by augmenting the .general notion 
of what belongs to the proprietors or the founders of a 
school (like the chartered schools of England, for example), 
by the specific duties assigned to these officers from time to 
time in the law. 

"Traditionally, then, the teacher stands in the place of 
the parent for all the broad purposes of education. What- 
ever belongs to the parent belongs to him in this regard, 
and the parent's rights and duties are inferior to no earthly 
power. Parents are responsible for their children, and their 
authority is commensurate with their duty. Under the 
Roman law the lives, even, of children were in the hands of 
parents. Under our modern laws these extremes of paren- 
tal authority have been abridged, but parents may still 
exercise all reasonable control over their children, For the 



58 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

purposes of tlie school, and while in school, the teacher 
assumes all these broad powers of the parent. 

" In very early times the teacher instructed and guided 
those who resorted to him voluntarily, attracted by the 
power of his wisdom. Such a teacher was Socrates, and 
Plato, and Aristotle. Mediaeval schools founded by chari- 
table donations, established by those who had charge of the 
foundations and who selected the teachers, were administered 
by the teachers. The pupils were intrusted to them by the 
parents, who delegated their authority to those teachers. 
So it was in the chartered schools of England. Magister, 
the master, is a term which implies authority. In those 
schools, even to this day, the student is in the hands of the 
master, or teacher, whose authority is as unlimited as that 
of the parents. The right to inflict punishment, and every 
other reasonable right, belongs to the teacher and is intrusted 
to him by the parent. 

" This traditional notion of the teacher's power and duties 
is recognized in the school laws of every State. In these 
laws the powers and duties of the teacher, and what a school 
is, are assumed to be known. 

" No specific duties are assigned to the teacher except the 
implied duty of teaching a good school. There is a singular 
absence of all law on the subject. The only duties specifi- 
cally assigned to the teacher are of a merely formal charac- 
ter, such as having a license or certificate of qualification to 
teach, and making out and certifying certain school statistics. 
All the functions belonging to the teacher are left to be in- 
ferred from the traditional notion of what a teacher is, and 
from the purposes of the school, which are the right nurture 
and training of youth. The only exception to the above — 
the only specific duty of teachers in the laws — relates to 
moral culture. It is expressed in the statutes of Massachu- 
setts as follows : 

" ' It shall be the duty of all instructors of youth to exert 
their best endeavors to impress on the minds of children and 



DUTIES OF SCHOOL OFFICERS 59 

youth committed to their care and instruction the principles 
of piety and justice, and a sacred regard to truth, love of 
their country, humanity, and universal benevolence, sobriety, 
industry, and frugality, chastity, moderation, temperance, 
and those other virtues which are the ornaments of human 
society and the basis upon which a republican constitution 
is founded ; and it shall be the duty of such instructors to 
endeavor to lead their pupils, as their ages and capacities 
will admit, into a clear understanding of the tendency of the 
above-mentioned virtues, to preserve and perfect a republi- 
can constitution and secure the blessings of liberty, as well 
as to promote their future happiness, and also to point out 
to them the evil tendencies of the opposite ones.' In spirit, 
though not in terms, the laws of many, if not most, of the 
other States contain the same. By tradition, then, confirmed 
by this single statute, the education of children is intrusted 
to the teacher by the parents, and all the powers of the par- 
ents and all the authority necessary to this great end are 
conferred upon the teacher. This authority is amplified by 
numerous decisions of the courts. '^ 

The Teacher's Authority. — Dr. Emerson E. White, to whom 
we have listened for so many years with delight and inter- 
est, and who has said so many wise things to the teachers of 
the country, has touched upon this subject in his recent val- 
uable book on Scliool Management. He says : 

" The first of these conditions is the teacher's possession 
of requisite authority — an authority clearly recognized by 
pupils and patrons, and all others directly interested in the 
school. This is an important condition, not only for easy con- 
trol, but also for the highest success in instruction. The 
more the teacher represents ofiicially as well as personally 
in a school, the higher will be the pupils' confidence in 
him, the easier his control, the more effective his plans, 
and the more successful his efforts. This is an obvious 
principle — too obvious for extended discussion, were it 
more generally observed. 



60 SCHOOL INTEEESTS AND DUTIES 

"The teaclier is not only in loco parentis, but lie also 
stands in liis own place, and, in virtue of his office, is vested 
with rights and powers, as well as with responsibilities and 
duties. It is important that these inherent rights be recog- 
nized and honored by all. It is the beginning of serious 
trouble in a school when the officers thereof call in question 
the rightful authority of the teacher, and this is often done 
ignorantly. 

" There are not a few persons who suppose that all of the 
teacher's authority in a school is delega^ted by the school 
board, and hence that this authority may be limited or 
denied by such board at its pleasure. This supposition 
overlooks the historical fact that the teacher existed long 
before the school board, and that, in virtue of his office, he 
was endowed with inherent rights and authority. The law 
nowhere denies or annuls these historic and inherent teaching 
powers, nor does it invest them in the school board. They re- 
main with the teacher, an essential attribute of his high office. 

" It is true that the law gives school boards the power to 
employ teachers, to prescribe courses of study and instruction, 
and to exercise supervisory authority over the schools ; but 
supervision is not teaching, and the supervisory function as 
embodied in the school board does not include teaching func- 
tions. The school board may employ teachers ; but neither 
its officers nor its members are teachers, and they cannot 
wisely or legally exercise teaching powers or functions.^ 



1 Superintendent Marble, in discussing the relative duties of school offi- 
cers and teachers, advances an opinion sustained by a decision of the courts, 
and also by no less an authority than Horace Mann. Says Mr. Marble : 

" The power of inspecting and examining a school gives the school 
officer the right to act as teacher for the time being. In the examination 
he may listen while the teacher conducts the exercise, or he may conduct 
it himself and require the teacher to listen, and while performing this duty 
he is clothed with all the autliority of the teacher, and he may apply cor- 
rection and discipline while acting in this capacity. (Peck v. Smith, 41 
Conn., 442.) " 

On this point we have also the opinion of one of the most eminent edu- 
cational writers, Horace Mann : 



DUTIES OF SCHOOL OFFICERS 61 

" The authority of the school board to prescribe needful 
regulations for the government of the schools ought not to 
be construed as conferring the right to abridge or annul 
inherent teaching powers. Eules relating to the details of 
instruction and discipline should, for this reason, be most 
carefully considered. No school board, for example, can 
rightfully prescribe that teachers shall punish with a rod 
any pupil who whispers without permission, this being a 
clear assumption of the teaching function ; but a board may 
properly enact, if this be necessary, that no pupil shall be 
punished with a rod for failing in a lesson, such punishment 
being a clear abuse of the teacher's authority, and, it may 
be added, an abuse so obvious that no regulation ought to 
be required for its correction. 

" As a rule, school regulations touching the details of dis- 
cipline and instruction, if enacted, shoidd be prohibitory of 
obvious abuses, and not didactic or directive. It is the 
teacher's function to determine when punishment is required, 
to devise detailed plans of instruction, to assign lessons and 



"During the period of visitation the committee have the entire control 
of the school. For the time being it is their school, and the teacher is 
their servant. They may decide what classes shall be called upon to per- 
form exercises and in what studies. They may direct the teacher to con- 
duct the examination or may conduct it wholly themselves, or they may 
combine both methods. In fine, they may dismiss the teacher for the hour 
and pursue the examination in his absence. Should any scholar misbehave 
himself or prove refractory or contumacious to the committee while they 
are engaged in examining the school, it is presumed that they have an 
authority to suspend, to expel, or to punish on the spot, in the same way 
as the teacher may do in case of like misconduct committed against him- 
self. (10th Reps., p. 183.)" 

In spite of the eminence of this authority, we are inclined to believe that 
Sui^erintendent White has the true idea. It seems that Superintendent 
Marble's own words, contained in tlie same address and quoted in another 
place, would be the best argument against the view he expresses here. As 
for Horace Mann, it is clear that it had not occurred to him that the teacher 
has other powers than those conferred upon him by the school board. It 
is evident that he wrote with the idea (which is still so prevalent) that the 
teacher's powers are a delegation of the board's powers. It seems to us 
absurd to think of the trustee as standing in loco parentis. School officers 
cannot in any way usurp the teaching function. 



62 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

exercises, to decide when they are properly prepared, and to 
determine the steps to be taken in reaching a desired result. 
These and other like duties are elements of teaching, and as 
such belong primarily to the teacher. 

" One of the tendencies in present school administration 
that most needs correction is an increasing assumption by 
school officers of the rights and duties inherent in the teach- 
er's office. This tendency is not only seen in school regula- 
tions that violate the principles above stated, but more 
seriously in supervision, and especially in supervision by mem- 
bers of school boards, acting as individuals or as committees. 

" It is believed to be not an uncommon thing for a school 
director or trustee to dictate to teachers the methods to be 
used in teaching given subjects, and also what they are to 
require the pupils to do. Teachers are told authoritatively 
that they must not require pupils to prepare spelling lessons 
by writing ; that all spelling exercises must be oral ; that 
pupils must be taught the alphabet before they attempt to 
read ; that pupils must be permitted to read at least one 
verse each, and that they must read twice a day ; that the 
pupils must recite by turn; that pujoils must not 'begin 
multiplication' until they have learned the multiplication 
table ; that the rules in arithmetic must be learned by heart 
before any problems are solved ; that the text in geography 
must be committed to memory ; that no wall maps are to be 
used in recitations ; that all tables in primary grades are to 
be recited in concert, etc. 

" It is easy to see the mischief which must result from 
such official dictation in the details of teaching, and it is 
obvious that such dictation is even more mischievous, and 
perhaps more common, with reference to discipline ; and all 
this mischief may be done by a school officer without his even 
dreaming that neither the law nor the school regulations give 
him an iota of official authority in these matters ; that he has 
no more legal right ' to play teacher ' in the schools than 
any other citizen. 



DUTIES OF SCHOOL OFFICERS 63 

" It may, of course, be entirely proper for a school director 
or committeeman to call attention to what may seem defects 
in a school, or to make suggestions looking to its improve- 
ment — and every true teacher will welcome such efforts to 
render assistance — but we are not now considering the pro- 
priety of official advice, but of authoritative direction — a 
very different matter. 

"It is believed that there are thousands of American 
teachers, especially in country districts, who are not teach- 
ing according to their best knowledge or best judgment, 
because of official interference or the fear of it; and for this 
reason hundreds of schools are in disorder, with a sacrifice 
of needed efficiency and progress. 

" What a happy change would occur in these schools were 
the teachers officially encouraged to do their best, and, to 
this end, to seek for the most helpful information and the 
most approved plans and methods ! If this were done, in 
the place of stagnation and dull routine there would soon 
appear order, life, and progress. 

" This mistake of official dictation is sometimes made by 
superintendents and principals ; and it always occurs when 
a superintendent prescribes the details of instruction and 
discipline, and then enforces the same by personal oversight 
and direction of the teacher's work. Such a course of pro- 
cedure reduces the teacher to an operative^ and is subversive 
of all true teaching. 

"The most helpful supervision does not dictate or pre- 
scribe details ; but it asks for results, and then so instructs, 
inspires, and guides teachers, that they freely put their best 
thought and effort into whatever they do. This means pro- 
fessional progress, growth in skill, and increasing success." 

Needs of the Community. — So much for the question of 
authority. As has been said, the absolute duties of the 
school trustee are laid down in the statute books. While 
they are, for the most part, duties which he can perform 
perfunctorily, they will become relative duties if he be a 



64 SCHOOL INTEBESTS ANT> DUTIES 

citizen who has at heart the best interests of the community. 
That is, he will consult the needs of the school and the inter- 
ests of the community in performing the statutory require- 
ments of his ofl&ce. He will act in cooperation with the 
parents and with the teacher in providing for the necessities 
of the school. 

A careful consideration of the real needs and wishes 
of the school community is the first duty of the school 
officer. It is not meant by this statement that the trustee 
is not to act for himself. Indeed, very much of the power 
he will wield, very much of the efficiency he will have as a 
public servant, will depend upon the firmness with which 
he holds to decisions once made, after the exercise of care- 
ful judgment. All his actions must be the result of his 
independent thought in regard to the matter under consid- 
eration. Unless such conclusions are reached under a mis- 
apprehension of the facts, he must stand by them. 

However much this is true, it is also true that important 
action should be taken only after careful study of the best 
interests of both parties, and, in many cases, after seeking the 
advice of parents and teachers. For example, let us take 
the case of the town or city where there is a superintendent 
of schools and a board of education. It is clearly under the 
authority of the school board to select teachers and text- 
books. But these selections should be made only after con- 
sultation with the superintendent or teacher in charge. He 
is an expert in such matters. In fact, while the names of 
teachers of graded schools should be passed upon by the 
committee on teachers, yet the selections should be left 
largely to the principal, or superintendent. He has oppor- 
tunities for judging from an educational standpoint the 
merits of individual teachers, and of determining the extent 
of their pedagogical training. Virtually the selection of 
the corps of teachers should be in his hands. 

Again, the principal or superintendent, and expert teachers 
in his corps, should be competent to decide as to the merits 



DUTIES OF SCHOOL OFFICERS 65 

of ♦books recommended for adoption. It is not only a ques- 
tion of tlie facts contained in a book, but it is also a question 
of arrangement and presentation of those facts. The prin- 
cipal or superintendent is the expert selected by the school 
committee, who is competent to pass upon these matters. 

In the selection of the school site and a plan for the build- 
ing, and in the expenditures of the school, the advice of the 
patrons as well as that of the superintendent should be val- 
uable to the board. Miscellaneous and public advice and 
criticism are, of course, annoying. But the members can 
sound the sentiment of the men who, they know, represent 
the best thought of the community in such matters, and 
profit by their word of advice. These are matters in which 
they have the right to advise. These are matters in which 
they are vitally interested. 

The school board is sometimes between two fires. There 
may be a strong sentiment in the community opposed to the 
carrying forward of innovations just as strongly recom- 
mended by the superintendent and another faction. In 
that case it will have to weigh carefully the situation, and, 
having arrived at a conclusion which seems best for the 
school, announce it boldly and carry forward its plans. 

Personal Responsibility. — Every member should feel his 
personal responsibility. It is now the custom to refer to 
committees, departments of business which belong to the 
province of the board. There are committees on build- 
ings and grounds, committees on text-books, committees on 
teachers and salaries, committees on ways and means, etc. 
This is an excellent plan, and is, indeed, the only practicable 
plan where the business of the board is large. 

In too many cases, however, members feel relieved from 
any responsibility as to matters which have been referred 
to, or are under the authority of, committees of which they 
do not happen to be members. It is true that the committee 
is to make of the subject referred to it a careful and special 
study ; but, after all, its decision is not final. 

SCH. INT. & DUT.— ^5 



66 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

The committee simply reports a plan wMch. seems to it, 
under the circumstances, to be the best. It is the duty of 
the other members of the board to exercise their individual 
judgment in the matter, and act accordingly. It is not right 
for them to vote favorably on the committee's report solely 
because they have confidence in the committee. Their indi- 
vidual responsibility should be remembered. Too often 
honest members of corrupt boards have gone down in the 
gloom of ignominy with corrupt official associates simply 
because they have not possessed this sense of personal 
responsibility. 

Officers Responsible for Teachers' Recompense. — Boards 
should see that suitable recompense is given to the teacher. 
The needs of the teacher have been discussed in another 
chapter. The school board should have an appreciation of 
these. They must remember the great responsibility, the 
duty, " vastly great," of the teacher. They should not em- 
ploy teachers who do not feel the need of libraries or who 
do not care to become members of the Eeading Circle or to 
subscribe for educational journals. 

School boards should appreciate the great good which 
teachers derive from an occasional visit to other schools. 
These often require some expenditure of money. The board 
should expect the teachers to wish to make such visits, and 
should have this in mind when it is considering the matter 
of compensation. 

All live teachers will make it a point to attend the County, 
State, and possibly the National Association meetings. It is 
right that they should. They derive inestimable benefit 
from the discussion of difficulties with which they meet 
from day to day; from the deeper thought of trained ex- 
perts in the investigation of special lines of inquiry ; from 
the contact with the great men of the profession ; from the 
travel to and from the place of meeting ; from the profes- 
sional interest and enthusiasm and sociability always so man- 
ifest when many who have the same ends in view assemble 



DUTIES OF SCHOOL OFFICEBS 67 

on such occasions. The school board should have this fact 
in view when it considers the matter of teachers' salaries. 

We feel that we cannot speak too often or too urgently of 
the salary question. So long as teachers are poorly paid, 
we cannot expect many of the best men and women to 
remain in the profession. They cannot afford to do so. Or 
if they do remain, they are prevented from working up to 
the full measure of their abilities and from following out 
their cherished plans for extending their usefulness. 

Dignity and Common Sense. — School officers should pos- 
sess personal dignity, and be free from affectation. There 
are many qualifications for office considered in the selection 
of trustees. Each member is supposedly chosen on account 
of some special qualification which fits him for the position. 
He is either a man of business experience, or of high and 
influential social standing, or of known scholarship, or all 
three. He is not — or at least he should not be — a man 
taken at random or appointed in payment of political services 
rendered his party. The selection is, or should be, made 
carefully and for some good reason. 

It is sometimes the case that men who exhibit good sense 
in every position and experience in life, but who do not 
possess high educational qualifications, are selected for the 
office, and make good officers. If they do not make the 
mistake of considering their election an indorsement of sup- 
posed scholarship which they do not really possess, and if 
they bring to the discharge of their duties their customary 
good sense, they are valuable members of the board. 

It is sometimes the case, however, that a member of this 
kind, who is really a hard-headed man of business and is 
trusted by the community, takes his selection as a school 
officer as a recognition of scholarship. Because of the fact 
that he is connected with the schools it follows (to him, of 
course) that he must be a person who represents the learning 
of the whole township or city. He forgets that the man of 
little scholarship may be really a man of broad practical 



68 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

education. He fails to see that a man may be broad enough 
to be alive to the advance of the times and the needs of the 
school of to-day, and yet be a little slipshod in his spelling. 
He thinks that it is his duty to present himself to the school 
as representing scholarshix3, rather than an executive trust. 

Such a one must have been a school officer who lived in 
Indiana, according to a well-known legend of that State. 
Having been appointed trustee — so the story goes — and 
the school having been in session for a few weeks, he visited 
it one afternoon, full of the idea of making an impression. 
A class in reading was reciting. The subject matter of the 
selection in hand was historical, and the word massacre 
occurred once or twice in the course of the lesson. It fell to 
a luckless, tow-headed little boy to read a paragraph con- 
taining it. The boy read well, and all was well until he 
reached this word, which he pronounced correctly. Here 
was the trustee's opportunity. Frightening the boy with 
an awful frown, he said : 

" What's that, sir ? How did you call that word ? '' 

Again the boy pronounced the word correctly. 

"Don't you see," thundered the school magnate, "that 
m-a-s-s-a, massa, c-r-e, kree, spells massakree ? M-a-s-s-arC-r-e, 
massakree ! " 

The teacher interposed here, with the explanation that she 
was responsible for the pronunciation, and added, quietly, " I 
think Webster will give us authority for the way we have 
been pronouncing it." 

"'Bring me the Dictionary," ordered the trustee, pom- 
pously, feeling certain that he would be vindicated, since 
c-r-e could spell nothing but kree. 

The Dictionary was brought to the great man's knee, and, 
amid a breathless silence of some moments, his great fingers 
laboriously searched the columns for the word. Finally it 
was found. He studied it for a few more painful moments. 
He adjusted his steel-bowed glasses, and studied it further. 
At last, when convinced that his eyes were not deceiving 



DUTIES OF SCHOOL OFFICERS 69 

liim, lie closed the big book with a bang, and remarked, 
impressively : 

" Well, I should never have believed that Daniel Webster 
could have made a mistake like that ! " 

Of course, this is an extreme case. Yet occasionally we 
hear of a trustee or other officer who imagines himself to be 
invested with superior erudition and a pompous dignity on 
account of his selection as one able to manage school affairs. 

On the other hand, there is a kind of dignity which the 
school officer should have. Indeed, he will have it if he be 
selected on account of experience and breadth of view, and 
if he be the proper man for the community to select. It is 
the kind of dignity that will enable him to bear himself 
with ease at the gathering of the people on formal occa- 
sions, as commencements. 

It is becoming customary to dispense with the old-style 
commencements, and to substitute therefor an address by 
some distinguished stranger. It is a good thing to have 
these addresses, for they are a potent means of education in 
themselves ; but the loss of the old commencement is to be 
deplored. The essays of the young people, the white 
dresses, the ribbons, the flowers, and the address and pres- 
entation of the diplomas by the president of the board — all 
these have their effect, and, somehow, without them there 
would be a loss of some of the crowning glories of the 
scholar-life, a lack of something of which the stranger's 
address, however profound or brilliant, could not take the 
place. 

The members of the school board should be men whose 
personal dignity will cause them to grace an occasion of this 
kind, and will bring to all occasions a sense of respect for 
the position, as one bestowed only upon those fitted for it by 
the quality of their citizenship. 

Good Tools and Appointments. — The school officers should 
be free in supplying material necessities. We are always 
ready to assent to the statement that if the carpenter is to 



70 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

perform a piece of particularly fine work lie will need other 
tools than a hatchet and a jackknife. He may get along, 
slowly but well enough, with his hatchet and knife in work 
where the boards do not need to be smooth and polished or 
the joints close. But we are usually willing to concede that, 
even in his rough labor, he can work more rapidly and with 
better satisfaction for his patron with additional tools. 

It is to be hoped that the teachers^ needs of tools will be 
recognized as quickly and his demand for supplies answered 
as promptly as the carpenter's are. The school needs 
good blackboards, charts, maps, globes, and apparatus for 
experiments in physics and chemistry, botany, and zoology. 
Above all it needs books — dictionaries, cyclopedias, refer- 
ence books of historical and mythological and biographical 
subjects, and supplementary texts in all the studies of the 
curriculum. It is not necessary to point out how necessary 
it is that the pupil observe for himself, how important that 
he be not confined to the narrow bounds of the text-book 
of a single writer. 

The needs of the school are many. The trustees, while 
making the most prudent and economical expenditure of the 
public finances, should see that the work of education is not 
hampered. Often petty economy is really the greatest ex- 
travagance. Procuring the best there is for the children, 
and using it under competent direction, is the greatest 
economy, because it is the investment that will bring the 
largest returns. 

The subject of school architecture and appointments, 
including the various considerations of heating, ventilation, 
lighting, etc., is one of very great importance to the school 
officer, for it has much to do with the comfort, health, and 
advancement of the pupils of every school. It is a subject 
with which he should be familiar in all its bearings, to the 
end that his worthy efforts may be seconded by an enlight- 
ened judgment in all his acts relating to the material well- 
being of teachers and pupils. 



ill 

SCHOOL AECHITECTURE 

SCHOOL HYGIENE 



CHAPTER IV 
SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE! 

Site and Surroundings. — The clioice of site and orientation 
of the school building being determined, certain details of 
planting and laying ont the school lot remain to be considered 
before the requirements of the schoolhouse itself are taken 
up. If anything in the size of the lot or the conformation 
of the ground prevents ample space from being given to the 
rear playground, it is much better to set the building as far 
back as possible, and give up the front space to the children's 
games. Not only will the available area be thus made the 
most of, but, if the schoolhouse is judiciously arranged, the 
playground' will be brought on the south side of the building 
and sheltered from cold winds, while the sun reflected from 
the walls will add much to its cheerfulness. 

The ground should be grassed over with the closest and 
thickest turf possible, and baseball stations and similar 
places of excessive wear should be shifted every few weeks, 
to prevent the sod from being trodden away entirely. 
Wherever the natural sod is good, it is best to leave it in- 
tact, as a thick sod is of very slow growth. Defective places 
may be patched, during the construction of the schoolhouse, 
with sods from the site of the building and from the paths. 

If new grading makes it necessary to raise the grass from 
the beginning, all the loam accessible should be spread upon 
the surface. Two feet in depth of rich loam is not too much ; 

1 The greater part of this chapter is taken from one of the bulletins of 
the National Bureau of Education, prepared by T. M. Clark, an eminent 
architect of Boston. The bulletin referred to is No. 3 of 1883, 

73 



74 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

the growth of the sod will be much more rapid in such a 
soil; and the whole should be thickly sown with red-top 
grass, with a little admixture of white clover. The front 
space, where such an area is reserved distinct from the 
playground, may be treated differently by planting with 
trees, particularly evergreens and flowering shrubs, only 
taking care that no tree of any kind is allowed to stand at a 
less distance from the schoolhouse than twice its own natural 
height when fully grown. The good effect of trees is reversed 
by allowing them to stand too near a building. 

lighting. — The essential consideration which should de- 
termine the orientation of the schoolhouse proper absolutely, 
without reference to street lines or grades, is the lighting of 
the several rooms. We know that the sun rises in the east, 
is at its highest point in the south, and sets in the west ; we 
know also positively the good and bad effects of different 
kinds and degrees of lighting and varying amounts of sun- 
shine upon the eyesight and health of children ; hence we 
can deduce plain rules for laying down the lines of the rooms 
which they are to occupy, and these rules cannot be violated 
in deference to a real or supposed jiecessity, without detri- 
ment to the usefulness of the building. 

It is agreed by all authorities that the most comfortable 
and wholesome light for the eyes is that coming from one 
side of the room, without interfering crosslights from 
windows in the opposite side or from front or rear, and it 
is furthermore desirable that the light should come from a 
group of windows, or a single one, rather than from a suc- 
cession of them separated by wide piers, which cast annoy- 
ing shadows. 

For writing or drawing, the light should come from the 
left, not exactly at the side, but a little in front ; then neither 
the head, the right hand, nor the pen will cast a shadow on 
the paper. For reading, the light may come from either side, 
indifferently, but should be a little back, that it may shine 
brightly on the page. For any purpose, the window must 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE 75 

not be far off, or the light will be too dim, even though it 
may come from the right quarter. 

In arranging the more important schools, containing four 
or more class rooms on a floor, only two modes of lighting 
are practicable : one, by windows in two adjacent sides ; the 
other, by windows in one side only. 

Of these two alternatives, the latter should always be 
chosen. The confusion of crosslights at right angles to each 
other and the shadow of the head thrown forward are injuri- 
ous to the eyes, and the slight advantage to be gained for 
ventilation by windows in the adjacent sides of a large room 
is not suffi-cient to weigh against the defectiveness of the 
lighting so obtained. 

The openings in the one illuminated side should be numer- 
ous and large, otherwise the more distant portions of the 
room will be too dark -, and the seats should be arranged in 
such a way that the light in each room will fall upon the 
left side of the pupils. 

Under this arrangement, with lofty rooms and large open- 
ings, the comfort of the eyes is at its highest point, and it 
is therefore compulsory in all German schools of every grade, 
and has become a common requirement in planning the 
better class of school buildings in this country. 

For our climate, however, it may be seriously questioned 
whether, in small houses of one or two rooms, the value dur- 
ing the hot weather of the cross ventilation obtained by 
opening windows in two opposite walls should not compen- 
sate for the inferior quality of the lighting. 

Some French schools have endeavored to meet the diffi- 
culty and combine good light with ventilation by piercing 
two opposite walls with windows and then concealing those 
on one side by permanent screens, like blinds, which allow 
the air to pass, but not the light. 

This expedient answers for high and well-lighted rooms, 
but there is a further difficulty in the fact that in our low- 
studded district and ungraded schools it is impracticable to 



76 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

admit from a single side sufficient liglit to supply the needs 
of the scholars. 

The minimum approved proportion of window opening for 
a schoolroom is set down at one sixth of the floor area, most 
authorities demanding much more. In one of our average 
rooms, 30 by 40 feet, the necessary window area would thus 
be 200 square feet. Unless this amount of glass surface is 
provided, the pupils in the parts of the room farthest from 
the windows will suffer from insufficient light, which is far 
worse for the eyes than any possible crosslights. 

Now, a simple calculation will show that, supposing the 
ceiling to be 12 feet high and the windows to extend from a 
line 4 feet above the floor to within a foot of the ceiling, to 
obtain the amount of opening demanded would require a suc- 
cession of windows, say 3^ feet each in width, occupying 
the entire length of the longest side of the room, with piers 
between, only 12 inches wide. 

It is plain that such a construction, though not impossible, 
is very different from anything which has ever been seen in 
our country schoolhouses ; yet nothing short of this would 
give the remoter parts of the room even a bare sufficiency 
of light, and not that, if any darkening by shades or blinds 
were permitted. 

From these reasons it follows, we think necessarily, that 
whatever may be the best practice in large buildings, whose 
high stories admit the requisite surface of glass without 
reducing the piers to an impracticable slenderness, and 
where artificial or forced ventilation keeps the air fresh 
without effort, small buildings of cheap construction can, as 
a rule, be neither properly lighted nor efficiently ventilated 
without windows in two walls, and these walls should be 
those on the right and left of the pupils as seated. 

By this arrangement ample window space can be easily 
given, with allowance for partial darkening by blinds at 
times. The light, though less comfortable to the eyes of 
perhaps half of the pupils than woidd be that from a single 



SCHOOL ABCHITECTUEE 77 

direction, will be more comfortable to the remaining half, 
and far more so to all, teachers included, than would be the 
case with windows in two adjacent walls ; while the advan- 
tage of being able to change the air of the room in a few 
moments by opening windows in opposite sides, or by the 
same means to maintain a current in hot weather, is, in our 
climate, of very great importance. 

Adopting, therefore, the principle of lighting by opposite 
windows, it is necessary to consider the most advantageous 
aspect for these windows ; in other words, presuming that 
the openings will be made in the longer side of the parallelo- 
gram which constitutes the plan of the main schoolroom, 
the proper direction of the longer axis of the room is to be 
determined with reference to the effect of sunshine in the 
room at different times of the day. 

So far as the comfort of the eyes is concerned, the north 
light is preferable, as it is comparatively unvarying, and 
through windows so directed there will be no sunshine dur- 
ing school hours, and therefore no need of shades or blinds, 
which are always to be avoided if possible. But the health 
of children in other respects suffers very seriously from the 
deprivation of the sun's direct rays, so that steadiness of 
light must be sacrificed to the necessity for admitting them. 
Even the German rules recognize this, and require that while 
no room shall have windows on two sides, only drawing class 
rooms shall face the north. 

Next to the north aspect, the steadiest light, as well as 
the greatest amount of sunshine, is derived from one due 
south 5 and while a south window receives the sun nearly 
all day the year round, the angle at which it enters is so 
great that the annoyance from it in hot weather is infinitely 
less than from the horizontal rays which stream through an 
east or west window at certain times. For this reason, a 
south exposure is both cooler in summer and warmer in 
winter than an eastern or western one ; and while it secures 
the largest possible aggregate of sunshine, a south window 



78 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

needs less shading with blinds or curtains than any other 
except one facing north. 

, On the whole, therefore, although some authorities hold a 
different opinion, the writer believes that the main room or 
rooms in small school buildings will be best placed with the 
longer axis directed due east and west, and lighted by win- 
dows in the north and south sides only. 

With windows in the east and west walls, as some advise, 
the sun's rays will indeed traverse the room from side to 
side, but only at the times when their purifying and light- 
giving quality is at its least and their power of annoyance 
at its highest. 

Such a room is unendurable in summer afternoons without 
much pulling down of shades and closing of shutters — pro- 
cesses as disturbing to the quiet of the school as they are 
injurious to the eyes of the scholar — while at the same 
time the summer breeze is shut out together with the sun- 
light. 

In winter a room so lighted is chilled on either side alter- 
nately, according as the northwest winds of March or the 
easterly gales strike upon the exposed surface of glass, mak- 
ing the room difficult to warm unless by using two furnaces — 
one or the other to be used, according to which side may be 
the cold one for the time being. 

With north and south lighting, all these difficulties vanish. 
The condition of the room in relation to the furnaces will in 
winter be always the same, the north side being constantly 
cold and the south side warm, so that a single stove or fur- 
nace placed near the north wall will at all times diffuse its 
heat uniformly through the room. In summer, the north 
windows will never need shading and those on the south side 
only to a small extent. In winter the range would be much 
greater, though the annoyance would at that season be far 
less. In any case, the shading of a small fraction of the 
window surface will cut off all the rays which can possibly 
shine upon any desk, while a west window can be effectually 



SCHOOL ABCHITECTUEE 79 

shaded only by closing every crevice through which a hori- 
zontal beam can pierce. 

The advantage in hot weather of being able to have all the 
apertures on both sides of the room wide open, with frac- 
tional shades, if any, on the south windows, can be best 
appreciated by those who have tried both systems of orien- 
tation. 

Nor is the sunning of the room by south windows less 
effectual, but more so, than by east and west windows. The 
most obvious influence of sunshine upon the atmosphere of 
a room is to set it in motion, the chemical processes of deoxi- 
dation or decomposition being too obscure for our senses; 
but both chemical and mechanical effects are produced with 
greater energy by the noonday beams than by the heating, 
though lifeless, rays of a horizontal sun, and the circulation 
between the north and south sides of a room lighted from 
both quarters is the more active and constant by reason of 
the great dissimilarity in their condition, one being always 
shaded and cold and the other always warm. 

The shape and size of the sashes is an important matter. 
The height of the room will be generally about 12 feet, 
and if the windows are carried to within 6 inches of the 
ceiling the total height of the frame will be 7|- to 8|- feet. 
So high a sash ought not to be over 3 feet wide, and both 
parts should be well counterbalanced, so as not to encour- 
age their frequent opening. A heavy or badly-hung sash 
will rarely be opened, from the simple physical inability of 
teacher and children to manage it. 

A ring should be screwed into the top of the upper sash, 
and a pole and hook provided to operate it. The glass should 
be in rather small lights, for cheapness of repairs, and double 
thick on all exposed sides. The English double-thick is 
heavier than the common kind. 

Shades and blinds should be avoided as far as possible. 
Outside blinds are generally condemned by writers on school 
architecture, as liable to get out of repair and difficult to 



80 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

manage. Moreover, they require so mucli wall space, to fold 
back against, as to restrict the number of windows and pre- 
vent the grouping with small piers, which gives the best 
light. 

Inside shutters may be used where brick walls or furred 
projections give the necessary space for folding them back ; 
or, better still, Venetian blinds can be easily made or 
obtained, which pull up against the soffit of the frame by 
means of a cord passing through holes in the ends of each 
slat, and attached to the lowest one. These are made both 
of wood and iron. Still better, but more costly, are the roll- 
ing shutters, which coil, by means of a spring, into a box 
either above or below. 

The cheapest device of all is the ordinary shade, which 
should be made of stout holland, never of paper or painted 
cotton, and strongly and accurately hung. This has the 
objection of shutting out air in summer, as well as sun; and 
a modification may be used, consisting of a short curtain, 
only half the height of the window, and moving up and 
down by means of the ordinary brass pulleys and endless 
cords, to which it is secured along the edges by rings and 
hooks. 

This will be quite suf6.cient to intercept all unwelcome 
sunshine, and will still leave half the window opening free 
for admission of air. The securing of each edge of the 
cord keeps the shades stretched and in good condition indefi- 
nitely, and no rollers or springs are required. For the north 
windows no shade whatever will be necessary. 

It is important that the sills of the windows should be as 
much as 4 feet above the floor. If less than this they 
cause a glare in the eyes of the pupils sitting near them. 
The danger which some writers fear that high window sills 
will develop an irresistible inclination on the part of the 
pupils to climb up on them, in order to see out, may be coun- 
teracted, perhaps, by increased effort to make the school- 
room itself attractive. 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE 81 

To compensate for the height of the sills above the floor, 
the window heads should be carried as close to the ceiling 
as the construction will admit. Four inches is all the dis- 
tance which need generally be given in frame structures, 
and even in brick buildings the sash can be carried nearly 
as high, as will be seen further on. The illumination of 
the ceiling so obtained is of the greatest value, the light 
reflected from it being peculiarly soft and grateful to the 
eyes, while the proper ventilation of the room is greatly 
assisted by making the windows as high as possible. 

Aspect must also be considered in regard to entrances, 
which, in a word, should always face the south. A south 
entrance gives a breathing place for the children in rainy or 
blustering weather, as they approach or leave the building, 
and protection to the interior from the March northwesters 
or easterly rain storms, which will blow in at an outside 
door exposed to them with such force as to make themselves 
felt through the whole schoolroom whenever the door is 
opened ; it gives dry and clean approaches to the build- 
ing after snowstorms, in place of impassable drifts, and — 
last but not least — shelter for those too punctual scholars 
who are sure to arrive before the building is open in the 
morning. 

So important has experience shown the southerly aspect 
for entrances to be, that to this necessity is perhaps due the 
fashion of east and west lighting for the schoolroom proper. 
The '"' classical '' style of school planning not being able to 
conceive of entrances in any other position than in the gable 
end of a building, a south door involved necessarily east and 
west windows, and vice versa. Now, however, the specter 
of the Greeks has ceased to reign over our architecture, and 
whatever ingenuity is shown in contriving south windows as 
well as doors will be rewarded by the applause of the elders 
as well as the gratitude of the children. 

There may be situations where a south exposure is im- 
practicable for one or both entrances. In such a case, 

SCH. INT. & BUT. — G 



82 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

mucL. may be done by contriving porches, wliich, although 
entered from the east or west, or even from the north, can 
have wide windows toward the south, and angles or screens 
which may shelter the early arrivals from the cold winds. 

Arrangement of the Schoolhouse. — The arrangement of 
the schoolhouse itself is now to be considered, keeping in 
view the requirements as to lighting and aspect of main 
room and entrances, which have already been discussed and 
accepted as settled for all cases where imperative necessity 
does not overrule them. But if certain further general rules 
can be deduced from study of the habits and necessities of 
teachers and scholars, it does not follow that such rules will 
be universally applicable. On the contrary, there are few 
cases where a very considerable amount of ingenuity Avill not 
be necessary to adapt the form and arrangement of building 
acknowledged to be the best in theory to the different exi- 
gencies of situation, size, or cost, which must to some extent 
govern in each particular instance; and it should be one 
of the recognized duties of school saperintendents to see 
that a due degree of mental energy is expended upon the 
problem. 

It is most unwise to delegate to the builder the task of 
shaping a model plan to fit a particular position. ISTot only 
will he generally lack the knowledge, if not the disposition, 
requisite for determining the dimensions of the rooms with 
that close regard to the number of pupils, the mode of seat- 
ing, the kind and therefore the size of desks, the formation 
of classes and consequently the width needful for aisles, 
the best mode of heating and ventilation under the given 
circumstances, which is necessary to success ; but, even if 
fortified with what he supposes to be ample experience, his 
knowledge will very often prove to be derived from books 
or works which, however good in their time, have in the 
rapid development of modern sanitary and social science 
long since become obsolete. 

Few persons know from actual examples how greatly the 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTUBE 83 

skillful planning of a school building facilitates the work 
carried on in it; but an idea of the possibilities of good 
planning may be negatively arrived at by observing the dis- 
advantages of bad or ill considered arrangement, Avhich may 
be studied in great variety in most of our country schools. 

Let any teacher, superintendent, or member of a com- 
mittee, on visiting a school, notice for an hour or so the 
continual petty interruptions, annoyances, and distractions 
caused to pupils and teachers in ordinary schoolrooms by 
the moving about to stir up fires which have not a proper 
chimney draught, or to pull down shades for excluding 
troublesome sunbeams ; by the frequent rests, sometimes on 
the part of teacher, sometimes of scholars, to relieve the 
eyes from the painful glare of a front light ; by the con- 
fusion and relaxation of discipline which follow the collision 
of classes in narrow doorways or of pupils in the tortu- 
ous and inconvenient passages among the desks, and the 
countless other annoyances which follow from the improper 
position of windows, desks, stoves, and doors ; and he 
will realize how large is the weekly aggregate of time thus 
wasted. 

The remedy for this is thought, the careful thought of 
some one thoroughly familiar with school business and 
ready to sacrifice all other considerations to the welfare of 
the school ; of one who can in imagination follow each 
pupil through his work and play, who can see before him 
the classes in order, and can sympathize with the trials and 
understand the duties of teachers and pupils. Such a man 
should sit in judgment upon every schoolhouse plan, whether 
modest or pretentious, whether made by an architect or by 
the apprentices in the builder's shop. 

In his criticism he should abandon at once all those pre- 
conceived notions of symmetry, proportion, classic elegance, 
or Gothic aspiration derived from books, or from the vague 
recollection of a few examples which are apt to influence 
amateurs much more than architects, and devote himself 



84 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

solely to determining whether the heights of stories are 
too great for proper hearing or too small for ventilation ; 
whether the staircases are wide enough and numerous enough 
for safety, and not too steep for little legs ; whether the 
windows are sufficiently high, and of suitable extent, and so 
placed that their light will fall where it is wanted ; whether 
the ventilating and warming apparatus is well out of the 
way of the school operations ; and, unless he can trust the 
architect's knowledge, whether it is judiciously planned in 
accordance Avith the latest practice. 

The dimensions of the rooms should be tested with refer- 
ence to the desks to be put in them, and the width of the 
resulting aisles between the desks calculated to an inch, in 
order that their sufficiency may be assured, while any super- 
fluity of space may be curtailed. 

This most necessary work of preliminary criticism, before 
plans of this kind are carried into execution, may be per- 
formed by any intelligent teacher or school superintendent, 
with the help of such guides and books of reference as 
may be procurable. 

By such individual thought and criticism only can a 
thoroughly good mode of school planning be formed in this 
country, as has been done in England through similar cen- 
sorship, with the imperative demand that certain require- 
ments shall be fulfilled ; and if the following notes are 
found applicable in suggesting and assisting such criticism, 
the writer believes that this work will be more serviceable 
than if he were to devote himself to the collection of a 
certain number of model plans, which, however interesting 
in themselves, are seldom of much service, except when 
interpreted by the light of well understood principles. 

Taking up the component portions of the proposed build- 
ings in the order of their importance, the main schoolroom 
should be considered in a few words. The form of this 
room would hardly need discussion if it were not that fan- 
tastic shapes are from time to time proposed and occa- 



SCHOOL ABCHITECTUBE 85 

sionally adopted. It is sufficient to say that tlie figure long 
proved to be the best for hearing and seeing on the part of 
the pnpils, with easy supervision on the part of the teacher, 
is a parallelogram, the length of which is a quarter or a 
third greater than the breadth. In the middle of one end 
is the desk of the teacher, who has his school thus before 
him, within reach of his voice, and so disposed that he can 
observe every movement without turning his head or strain- 
ing his eyes. 

For supervision alone a long and narrow room would be 
most suitable, so that the whole school would be compre- 
hended by the teacher within a comparatively small angle of 
vision ; but sufficient width must generally be provided for 
drawing out classes, either in front of or behind the desks, 
and a compromise must be made between these two opposite 
requirements. 

In accordance with the rules of lighting and aspect pre- 
viously proposed, the room will have its longer axis directed 
east and west, and will be lighted by windows occupying 
nearly the whole length of the north and south walls. 

The entrances, which must be separate for the two sexes, 
should be so planned that both boys and girls may be under 
the eye of the teacher, in entering and leaving the room. 
They may be in the wall behind him — a very common 
position — but they are better either in the side or oppo- 
site end walls, so that, without turning his head, his glance 
may follow them through the vestibules until they are out 
of the building. This plan will prevent the silly tricks 
which children carry on in the vestibules sheltered from 
the teacher's observation, to the amusement of their fellows 
but to the detriment of discipline. The best arrangement 
will be to put one entrance door in the side wall, near the 
teacher's end of the room, and the other in the opposite 
end wall. 

The side door may be appropriated to the boys, who will 
thus be nearer the teacher and more under his control in 



86 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

entering and departing, and the end door, wMcb. will be 
behind the pupils, to tlie girls. 

The room being lighted alike on both sides, the pnpils 
may sit facing either the east or west, but there are many 
advantages in arranging them to face the west. By this 
disposition the girls' entrance is brought on the sunniest 
and most sheltered part of the building, as it should be, 
and in interior planning the stove or furnace, which must be 
at the northwest corner of the room, comes in front of the 
pupils, where it finds the largest space and vfhere its heat is 
diffused with the greatest comfort to all. 

The best place for the blackboards is the end wall behind 
the teacher, the whole of which will be available, except 
what small portion may be occupied by doors to class room 
or teacher's room. If more space is needed, the opposite 
end wall may be used. 

The piers beside the windows, though often fitted with 
blackboards, are unsuitable. The strain upon the eyes in 
trying to decipher marks on boards so placed, in the face of 
the glare of light from the windows, is very severe, and 
such positions, if occupied at all, should be left for coarse 
maps and diagrams on a large scale and in bright colors. 

In the simplest cases, the large schoolroom and its sepa- 
rate entrance porches or vestibules for boys and girls, with 
wardrobes for each and connected outbuildings, will form 
the whole of the structure. 

More important buildings will have in addition a teacher's 
room and one or more recitation rooms ; but these can and 
should be joined to the main body without interfering with 
the disposition, aspect, or lighting of either schoolroom or 
entrances, the requirements for which are the same in 
houses of all the lower grades. 

A good rule for vestibules is that the outside doors shall 
be placed at an angle with those oi3ening from the vestibules 
into the schoolroom. This will cut off the direct impulse of 
the wind and exclude draughts with ten times the effective- 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE 87 

ness of outside and vestibule doors in parallel walls. They 
should be light and sufficiently sj)acious to give the crowd 
which pours out of the schoolroom doors at recess a little 
breathing space before they are pushed into the open air. 

Attached to each vestibule should be a large wardrobe. 
These may open directly from the schoolroom, and should 
always do so where there is danger of their being robbed ; 
but the smell of wet clothes in rainy weather, especially in 
poor neighborhoods, is penetrating and disagreeable, and a 
better disposition is to open the wardrobes from the vesti- 
bules, these being at the same time so arranged that the 
teacher can observe everything that goes on in either of 
them. With panels of clear glass in the inner doors, these 
can be shut without interfering with this supervision, which 
is useful also for other purposes. 

Besides the wardrobes, each vestibule should be furnished 
with washbowls and roller towels. It is not necessary to 
have expensive plumbing to enable teachers and children to 
keep themselves as clean as they desire. All that is need- 
ful is a common cistern pump in each vestibule, with a lead 
or enameled iron suction pipe to the well, and an .earthen- 
ware or tinned copper basin, or a sink, if preferred, with a 
waste pipe to a dry well outside. This will cost a trifle — 
perhaps $50 in all — if the well is not far away. At 6 per 
cent interest, this would bring the cost of keeping a school 
of 50 pupils clean up to 6 cents apiece each year. 

A further investment for towels and rollers, with weekly 
allowance for laundry, is advisable, but not absolutely 
necessary. 

The pumps may be had with a pin hole in the valve, so 
that the water cannot stand long enough in them to freeze, 
and traps in the waste pipe may be dispensed with as un- 
necessary, so that there will be no other part of the apparar 
tus to be injured by frost. 

On no account must the waste pipe empty into the privy 
yault. By such carelessness will not only foul gases be 



88 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

poured into tlie vestibules, wardrobes, and schoolroom, but 
the admixture of water renders the contents of the vault 
doubly offensive and dangerous. 

In towns with public water supply, the arrangement will 
be a little different; but some means of cleanliness may 
always be had. If nothing better offers, the rain water of 
the roof can be collected and used. 

In regard to certain other appliances for cleanliness and 
health — perhaps the most essential of all — much must 
depend iipon circumstances. The distance between the 
best and the worst is so enormous that the writer can do no 
less than urge most earnestly that the very best apparatus 
should be always used where it is possible. At the same 
time, he considers it his duty not to overlook the very poor- 
est and cheax3est contrivances, which must sometimes of 
necessity be endured. 

It is sometimes asserted that a school privy should never 
be under the same roof as the schoolroom, and certainly 
it should not open into it, nor should the vault be placed 
where its contents can by any possibility contaminate the 
soil beneath the schoolrooms ; but with proper construction 
and ventilation it can be brought without offense, if not 
under the same roof, at least within reach of sheltered and 
decent communication, and one improperly built and cared 
for should not be allowed upon a schoolhouse plot under any 
circumstances. 

The advantages of placing the closets in communication 
with the schoolroom are numerous. To say nothing of the 
dangerous exposure in winter to a delicate child in leaving 
a hot room, and traversing, perhaps, the length of the play- 
ground to a miserable shed through which the wind blows 
freely, or of the no less injurious repressions of the natural 
functions which the dread of such exposure occasions, the 
blunting of the natural modesty of children and the oppor- 
tunity of corrupting themselves and others which is afforded 
to the degraded ones by the shiftless, indecent, and promis- 



SCHOOL AECHITECTUEE 89 

cuoiis arrangement and condition of the ordinary school 
privies urgently demand that these necessary appliances 
should receive at least as much care as the other circum- 
stances of school life. 

How deeply children may be dragged down by their 
school associations is well known to experienced teachers 
and physicians ; and even the public is sometimes startled 
into attention by the revelation of the condition into which 
such influences, joined to the horrible knowledge derived 
from the books which certain criminals delight to scatter 
among the young, may bring to a school. Even young chil- 
dren are liable to have a bias given to their thoughts which 
they will bitterly regret in later years. 

For these reasons, all the delicate precautions with which 
good architects help the occupants of dwelling houses to con- 
ceal from each other any suggestion of the degrading neces- 
sities of their common nature are tenfold more necessary 
in planning for school children, whose minds are far more 
susceptible to the influence of their material surroundings, 
while they have not the restraint of intimacy and affection 
to check prurient curiosity. 

In the first place, the conveniences for the two sexes 
should be absolutely separated, out of sight and out of 
mind each from the other. They should be well ventilated, 
a little off the main thoroughfare, but not at the end of a 
long passageway, nor in any place where one must pass by 
a window or across a door to reach them. 

They should be, however, secluded in the same group as 
the wardrobes or woodshed, so that a person passing in that 
direction is not necessarily going to or from them. This 
seems a small matter, but it is not ; it is one of the estab- 
lished rules of planning among architects, and especially in 
planning for children, whose modesty it is peculiarly neces- 
sary to consider. Yet the closets should not be far removed 
from the observation of the teacher, or even from supervi- 
sion by the public opinion of the scholars. 



90 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

As the dark and filthy outhouse, scrawled with obscenity 
by wandering tramps, induces carelessness in children, if 
nothing worse, so a light and neatly finished closet, with 
proper provisions of urinals and water-tight floors, will be 
an object of pride even among boys, and they will readily 
cooperate with a teacher in keeping it clean and discounte- 
nancing the filthy habits of the rougher class. 

But, to remove temptation, all should be light, oi)en, and 
in a sense public, each latrine to its own sex. There should 
be conveniences enough for all the children. Dark corners 
should be avoided, inside as well as outside the building, 
and such angles as cannot be dispensed with should be over- 
looked by windows from some frequented place. Even 
clumps of shrubbery should be so arranged as not to form 
retreats for careless or dirty boys. This care in arrange- 
ment, so that no part of the building or grounds can escape 
observation, is of great value in assisting discipline, break- 
ing up bad habits among the scholars, and encouraging 
manliness and modesty. 

Having arranged the position of the retiring places with 
due regard to convenience, unobtrusiveness, cleanliness, and 
privacy, the kind of apparatus to be employed is next to 
be decided. Independent of cost, the question whether 
water closets, earth closets, or common privies should be 
used depends upon the amount of care which can be given 
to them. 

A good water closet is undoubtedly the best appliance 
which we have, but it involves an expense in drainage and 
supply which is seldom allotted to country schools, and the 
risk of being rendered useless by freezing is considerable, 
especially with the best closets. Those which are called 
" hoppers " can be arranged with the trap below ground, out 
of reach of frost, but unless by good fortune there is a large 
and constant supply of water these are liable to become 
serious nuisances. In general, it is well to remember that 
the stench from an inferior or dilapidated water closet is 



SCHOOL ABCHITECTUBE 91 

more penetrating even than that of a foul privy, and that a 
privy vault can be disinfected much more easily than a bad 
drain. 

In ordinary cases, the best resource is some form of earth 
closet, which, when properly cared for, is inodorous and is 
equally available in all weathers. The form of closet em- 
ployed should be especially designed so that the scattering 
of the earth over the matter in the vault may be done by an 
independent mechanism from the outside. In this way the 
pulling of a lever or turning a crank once a day will accom- 
plish all the requisite disinfecting, and the weekly visit of 
an intelligent laborer, who should make the rounds of the 
schoolhouse to fill up the reservoirs of dry earth and remove 
the contents of the vault, will be all that is necessary to 
maintain the sanitary condition of the buildings. Further 
details will be found in their proper place. 

If the town is unwilling or unable to do even so much as 
this for its children, the common privy vault must be accepted 
as a necessity. In that case, although it is both pra«ticable 
and advisable to retain it in close connection with the school- 
room, provision should be made by a short vestibule, venti- 
lated by blind slats in the sides, or some similat arrangement, 
for intercepting and sweeping away the emanations of the 
closets before they can enter the rooms. By this precaution, 
with a small and tight ventilated vault, little or no nuisance 
can reach the schoolroom. 

Water closets and privies are simple in arrangement, but 
a few suggestions may be useful. They are, in the country, 
generally made far too large. Two feet and a half is all the 
width necessary or advisable, and four feet in depth is suf- 
ficient. Never, under any circumstances, should there be 
two seats in the same inclosure. 

If a special seat for young children is necessary, it should 
be in an inclosure by itself ; but with seats made rather low, 
15 inches from the floor, and the holes not too large, all 
children of school age will be sufficiently well accommodated. 



92 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

It is sometimes necessary in rongh districts to prevent stand- 
ing on tlie seats in the boys' closets. This may be done by 
a wide board inclined from a little above the back of the 
seat, forward to a point nearly over the front edge, or by a 
strong bar 20 to 24 inches above the seat. 

The boys should always be provided with nrinals, which 
may consist of a trough of wood or iron, inclined toward the 
ontlet, and the requisite number of board partitions, 18 to 
20 inches apart; but a better arrangement, because of its 
greater privacy, consists in stalls divided by partitions, as 
before, but each furnished with a separate iron u.rinal — 
enameled, if the best and most durable article is desired. 
Corner urinals are in some respects the best, and a large 
number may be set in a small space by placing them on 
opposite sides of a zigzag partition. Whatever kind is used, 
the lipped pattern should be chosen. This saves the drip- 
ping and consequent foulness inevitable with troughs, or 
even with urinals of the ordinary shape. 

The screens should be 6 feet in height or more. In very 
many delicate and nervous boys nature refuses to perform 
its usual functions, however great the necessity, in the pres- 
ence of others or under unaccustomed circumstances, and a 
decent privacy in the school conveniences is necessary to save 
such from daily pain and often more serious consequences. 

The urinals may discharge into a single pipe, emptying 
into the vault, and all woodwork above them should be well 
painted and sanded. The floor under them should be, if 
possible, of slate, marble, or concrete, with a gutter formed 
in it, draining into the main waste pipe. In general as little 
surface as possible should be exposed to defilement, and that 
little should be non-absorbent, and capable of being washed 
clean with a few pailfuls of water. 

The schoolroom, vestibules, wardrobes, and closets will in 
some cases constitute the whole of the plan, but most schools 
will require, in addition, either a woodshed for storage of fuel 
or a space for cellar stairs, if the basement is used for that 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTUBE 93 

purpose. As a rule, unless furnaces are set in the basement, 
it is both, better and cheaper to store wood, and still more 
coal, in a shed on the ground level than under the schoolroom 
floor. Some coal, especially when wet, emits sulphurous 
vapors in considerable quantity, and any old wood pile fur- 
nishes evidence that the fermentation of sap and the decom- 
position of animals give rise to vapors which are best removed 
from all possibility of contaminating the schoolroom air. 
The woodshed may adjoin the boys' vestibule, and by plac- 
ing it on the northwest corner it will serve to shield the 
vestibule on that side from the cold winds. 

The most desirable position for the stove being in the open 
space in front of the pupils and at the left of the teacher, and 
this being also, with the orientation here adopted, by far the 
most favorable position for warming the room uniformly in 
cold weather, it will be convenient to place the chimney in 
the northern part of the west wall near the stove. 

Por an ordinary stove a flue 8 by 8 inches is large enough, 
but a chimney of a single flue of that size quickly bends over 
and finally decays, so that it must be made 8 by 12 or 8 by 
16 inches, or, what is much better, a ventilating flue may be 
built in the same stack. The cost of the stack is not very 
much increased, and the advantage of having a ventilating 
flue in such a position, where the draught will be quickened 
by the heat of the adjoining smoke flue, is considerable. 
Besides, the solidity as well as the external appearance of 
the chimney is greatly improved by increasing its size. 

The ventilating flue, if smooth inside, must be at least 20 
by 20 inches ; this is the smallest permissible sectional area 
of a warmed shaft, straight and smooth and of considerable 
height, for winter ventilation of a schoolroom occupied by 
forty-eight pupils. 

If a smaller flue is used, additional wooden shafts will 
have to be provided in other parts of the room to obtain 
proper movement of the air, and as the motion of the air in 
pipes diminishes much more rapidly than their sectional area, 



94 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

the cost of the wooden trunks will be found greater than that 
of the brickwork saved, and the effect much less. 

A consideration which should not be lost sight of in plan- 
ning small schools is the possibility that it may become de- 
sirable to add one, two, or more recitation or class rooms and 
a teacher's room or library, and an arrangement of ground 
plan and elevations which will permit this to be done with 
the least alteration of the portion previously built will be 
very generally useful. 

In planning buildings of this class it is always necessary 
to keep in mind the requirements which are peculiar to the 
business of a small school, and to recognize the difference 
between them and the large structures with four rooms on 
a floor, where, for instance, it is the rule to place the axes 
of the building diagonally with the cardinal points, in order 
to secure sunshine in all the rooms, an object which is much 
better attained in the one or two roomed structure by placing 
it square with the cardinal points. 

The dimensions and, to some extent, the shape of the 
rooms will depend upon the seating. The utmost number of 
pupils which should be allowed to one teacher is fixed by the 
best authorities at 48, and each teacher should have a separ 
rate room; but there are certain advantages in ungraded 
schools in having the schoolroom large enough to accommo- 
date a greater number. 

In country districts the attendance varies in character 
according to the season. In summer the larger children are 
occupied at home and the school is filled with small ones, 
while in winter the older boys and girls have leisure to attend 
but the inclemency of the weather keeps the little ones away ; 
so that, although the average attendance may not be over 48 
scholars, there should nevertheless be an extra provision of 
small desks for summer and of large ones for winter, increas- 
ing the number to about 60 places in all. Otherwise, in the 
cold season, stout children must be crammed into the infants' 
desks, and during the rest of the year some of the little 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTUBE 95 

ones will have to be seated at desks too large for them, with 
serious risk in both cases of causing malformation in the 
young and tender bodies. 

The additional air space gained is also of value, and, in 
a rapidly growing neighborhood, such a room may, in case 
of necessity, be temporarily utilized to its full capacity by 
the employment of a second teacher and the addition of reci- 
tation or teachers' rooms, if they do not already exist. 

The exact dimensions of the main room will furthermore 
be dependent on the kind of desks used. It should be 
unnecessary to say that the proper way to plan a building 
of this sort is to determine the number and size of desks 
and the width of aisles and platform first of all, then to con- 
struct the walls to inclose just the space desired and no 
more 5 not, as sometimes occurs, to fix upon some haphazard 
dimensions for the room, and when it is ready cram the desks 
in somehow, the result being that the room presents in one 
place large useless spaces, and, in another, aisles so narrow 
that the children can only squeeze through them sideways. 

Taking things as they are, not as they perhaps ought to 
be, the majority of ungraded schools are likely to use double 
desks, and the plan will be first laid out for such, leaving 
till later the arrangement to suit the single desk seating. 

The dimensions of double desks vary according to the 
maker, and the utmost economy of floor space will be secured 
by determining upon the kind to be used before commencing 
the construction of the building. 

The folding seat desks, which are desirable, especially for 
young children (because they allow the pupils to stand up- 
right in their places, turn the seats back, and in that position 
take part in various calisthenic or other exercises), occupy 
a little more room from front to rear than the old kind, but 
are made somewhat shorter, the average length being 40 
inches for the double seat, and the floor space from back to 
back 30 inches. The aisles between the rows of double desks 
should be two feet wide. 



96 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

The teacher's platform, or a space for the desk if a plat- 
form is not used, will be 5 feet wide, and 3 feet, at least, 
must intervene between the front of the platform and the 
front row of desks. Three and a half, or, better, four feet 
should be allowed between the rear seats and the wall, and 
aisles next the side walls are necessary, 3|- feet wide if black- 
boards are to be placed there, or 3 feet if they are dispensed 
with. 

There should not be more than four rows of double desks. 
The advantage of shortening the schoolroom by increasing 
the width is more than counterbalanced by the annoyance to 
the teacher of constantly turning the head in trying to take 
in a wide angle of vision. 

Three rows of desks would give a room of better form 
still for seeing, hearing, and economical construction, but the 
width of such a room, amounting to 20 feet only inside the 
finished walls, woidd not be sufficient to allow the drawing 
out of large classes in front or rear of the desks. With 
four rows, therefore, as a standard, the desks, being 40 inches 
long, will require 13 feet 4 inches; three 2-foot aisles be- 
tween them will add 6 feet ; and the two side aisles, each 
31- feet wide, 7 more ; making the total width of the room, 
inside the finished walls, 26 feet 4 inches. 

Eor the depth, the teacher's platform will take 5 feet ; the 
front aisle, 3 more ; eight desks, at 2|- feet each, will add 20 
feet ; and the rear aisle, which must be 4 feet if there is any 
possibility of adding recitation rooms on that end, brings the 
total to 32 feet, and gives seating capacity for 64 pupils of 
all ages. 

If it is decided to use single desks, which are rapidly 
superseding double ones in the more intelligent communities, 
the dimensions of the room will with advantage and economy 
be somewhat different. The usual width for aisles between 
single desks is about 18 inches ; six rows of desks, there- 
fore, at two feet each, with five aisles, at 1^ feet, will take 
19|- feet ; two side aisles will, as before, add 7 feet, making 



SCHOOL ABCHITECTURE 97 

26 1- feet. To accommodate 60 pupils, there will be ten 
desks in each row, at 2|- feet of floor space for each, which, 
with 8 feet in front and 4 in rear, gives 37 feet for the 
depth of the room. 

The height of the ceiling should not be less than 12 or 
more than 14 feet. Thirteen feet is quite sufficient for any 
schoolroom ; and although the volume of air contained in a 
lofty room is larger, a comparatively low one is more easily 
ventilated by flues and the air more quickly changed by 
opening the windows, and the acoustic quality of a room so 
nearly square as a schoolroom must be deteriorates with 
great rapidity as the height of the ceiling passes beyond 12 
feet. 

Lower posts still would be admissible in small rooms 
for 24 to 40 pupils, if the ceiling were carried up with the 
roof by plastering on the rafters and collar beams, but collar 
beams are hardly practicable in roofs of 26 feet span. 

The window sills will be 4 feet above the floor, and 
the heads should extend close up to the plate, which will 
allow about 5 inches for architrave. 

A wainscoting should be carried around the room, or, at 
least, across the blackboard ends. Under the blackboards 
it should be 2 feet 4 inches high. This will be high enough 
to protect the dresses of the children from the chalk, and 
will not bring the blackboards too high for convenient use. 
Usually the cap of the wainscot is formed of a gutter-shaped 
molding to catch the chalk dust and hold crayons ; but an 
ingenious carpenter can easily make a suitable cap by bevel- 
ing a square piece of wood inwards. 

The blackboards should extend 4i to 5 feet above the 
wainscot, bringing the top edge 6f to 7 feet above the floor. 
One large one should occupy the whole extent of the wall 
behind the teacher's platform, and a similar one the oppo- 
site end wall, while smaller ones or maps may be placed 
beside the groups of windows. Certain simple diagrams, 
showing graphically the areas of different countries and 

SCH. INT..& BUT. 7 



98 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

their productions, have been made, which will be very suit- 
able for such places. A small molding or batten may run 
along the top of the blackboard as a frame. 

The teacher's platform may be from 6 to 8 feet long and 
about 8 inches high. Some teachers prefer to dispense with 
it altogether, thinking that they can make their work more 
effective by moving about continually on a level with their 
scholars instead of overlooking them quietly; but such 
cases are exceptional. 

The stove, if the room is to be warmed in that Avay, 
should stand in the vacant northwest corner of the room; 
and, if furnace heat is employed, the furnace should stand 
nearly under the same corner, and registers should be placed 
in each angle. In this way the delivery of hot air will be 
equal at each register ; whereas, if the furnace were set in 
the center of the basement, the delivery in cold weather 
would be mostly on the south side of the house, the greater 
weight of air in the northern half of the room, chilled by 
the impact of the cold wind, being sufficient to determine 
the current away from that side. 

The recitation rooms may be 10 by 15 feet, or even 
smaller. Their furnishing will consist of benches or spe- 
cially designed seats around the wall, and a small desk and 
a chair for the teacher. Blackboards should line the walls. 

For a teacher's room, almost anything, even a closet, is 
better than no such room at all. Six feet by ten is large 
enough to be of great use. Book shelves, hooks for hanging 
clothes, or, better, a small press, and a few cupboards, with 
two chairs and a small table, complete its furnishing. 
Neither teacher's room nor recitation rooms need be so 
high studded as the schoolroom. 

Wardrobes may be 12 inches deep, if there is wall space 
enough; if not, by making them 18 inches deep hooks may 
be put on the inside of the doors, and room thus economized. 
The hooks should be triple, of malleable or wrought iron, if 
the cost is not too great, and screwed to strips in two rows, 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE 99 

one row being put 6 feet or so from the floor for the large 
scholars, and the other not over 4 or 4|- feet for the younger 
ones. The hooks should be 8 inches apart in each row, and 
those in one row should be vertically over the middle of 
the space between those in the other. Ten feet in length 
with double strips will give 30 hooks. 

Each hook should be numbered and one allotted to each 
child. Six inches over the top row of hooks should be a 
shelf, and the remaining space to the ceiling may be occu- 
pied with additional shelving. 

For overshoes, the lower part of the wardrobe is, in the 
better schools, occupied with ranges of pigeonholes 4 or 5 
inches square. Five inches square, or 4 inches by 6, is not 
too much in country districts at the north, where rubber 
boots need to be accommodated, and, if the case is made 
of half-inch stock, a wardrobe 10 feet long will give room 
for 30 boxes, numbered like the hooks, in two rows, with a 
cupboard in addition where lunch pails may be stowed 
away. A little ingenuity only is needed to secure the 
requisite accommodation in very limited spaces. 

The whole should be shut in by strong doors, which may 
fasten with a slip bolt, or, if preferred, by a lock, the key of 
which will be retained by the teacher during school hours. 
Holes bored in walls and doors will give ventilation. If it 
is possible to turn a current of warm air from the furnace 
in among the clothes to dry them in wet weather the health 
of the children will be thereby promoted. 

A few details of general planning may be best inserted 
here, and will serve to close the subject of arrangement. 

All the doors from the interior of the schoolroom to the 
exterior air should open outward. This precaution, which 
the law makes compulsory in city schoolhouses, should not 
be neglected in the smallest buildings. It is necessary, in 
consequence of this arrangement, to have a landing at the 
top of the outside steps at least 4 feet wide, so that a child 
standing on the top step when the door is suddenly thrown 



100 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

open from the inside may have room to draw back without 
falling down the steps. 

Double doors are often useful in large schools, but, if used, 
should be not less than 5 feet in width. Other doors may 
be 3 feet wide, and, in general, 6 feet 8 inches to 7 feet is 
sufficient height. It is a common mistake to have doors too 
high. If ventilation is provided for independently of them, 
as it always should be, the larger they are the greater will 
be the volume of cold air admitted when they are opened 
and the more danger there will be that they will warp and 
admit dangerous draughts even when closed. Fanlights over 
them, however, are useful in warm weather. 

Stairs and steps of all kinds should be very low and easy 
for children's use. Five inches in height are enough for 
each riser, and outside steps may have treads 12 inches wide 
with advantage. 

Arrangements in City Schools. — Mr. Clark's foregoing 
statement of principles of school architecture relates specif- 
ically to the smaller schools of country districts, and he has 
made a careful study of their requirements. The same prin- 
ciples apply generally, however, to city schools as well. 

In cities there has been too little attention paid to the 
matter of school grounds. Unless these are purchased early 
in a rapidly growing city, it will soon be found that the cost 
of the ground is an obstacle to the purchase of a campus of 
generous dimensions. This fact should be carefully consid- 
ered by school boards, who should have an eye to the future 
needs of the schools. 

" For aspect," says Mr. Clark, " it is hardly necessary to 
say that a gentle inclination of the ground toward the south 
is especially desirable ; the charm of land so situated is well 
fixed in the minds of most persons. Next to this, the play- 
ground may slope east or west; not north, if it can be 
avoided. After these considerations have been weighed, if 
the schoolhouse plot still offers a choice of several sites, all 



SCHOOL ABCHITECTURE 101 

equally well fulfilling the requirements we have noted, the 
further selection between the different situations may be 
allowed to depend upon their relative position with regard 
to the street. 

" While no point of healthfulness or convenience for the 
pupils should be sacrificed for the sake of pleasing the eyes 
of the loiterers in the streets, it is generally found impossi- 
ble to keep a well-used playground as neat and trim as a 
lawn, and for this reason it will be better with small build- 
ings, other things being equal, to set the schoolhouse between 
the street and the center of the plot, reserving the portion 
behind it for playgrounds, while the smaller space in front 
may be ornamented with flowers and kept neat and attrac- 
tive. The entrances should be so placed that, without alter- 
ing the aspect of the schoolroom itself, both of them may be 
visible from the street. Otherwise than this, the position 
of the building and the direction of the street have no neces- 
sary relation to each other." 

Except in the very large and crowded cities, the vast 
schoolhouses which were the pride of an earlier decade are 
going out of fashion. Generally, even in large cities, a 
building of eight schoolrooms (arranged on two floors) with 
a principal's office and the usual adjuncts of smaller apart- 
ments, is large enough. A building of this size may be 
made almost ideal in its proportions and appointments. 

Where a new school building is to be constructed, it is 
of the highest importance that the services of a competent 
architect be secured, in order that the structure may possess 
a permanent value. There is no economy in erecting old- 
styled structures wanting in modern appliances and conven- 
iences. The best is really the cheapest, and an architect 
who has made the subject his special study will know what 
is best for the purpose. 

An eight-room school building of modern design is gener- 
ally rectangular in form, with a straight hall running through 
the center, into which open two schoolrooms on each side. 



102 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

The stairs ascend midway in the hall. The upper hall is 
nearly square. A piano placed in the center of the upper 
hall will be advantageously located for supplying marching 
music, as the pupils pass in and out of the rooms. 

Halls with turns and corners, dark halls, halls made to do 
service as cloakrooms, narrow and crowded halls, noisy halls, 
dirty halls, inconvenient halls, have had their day. Broad, 
light, straight, clean, and pleasant halls are now required. 
The doors should be made to swing outward, as well as in- 
ward, to avoid the danger of a crowd shut in by a panic in 
case of danger. 

From the halls the principal should be able to view the 
rooms at all times. There should be sash doors opening 
into the schoolrooms. Between the schoolrooms on either 
side should be commodious cloakrooms for girls and boys, 
respectively. A separate closet or wardrobe for the use of 
the teacher should be provided, opening from the school- 
room. In the cloakrooms should be the chimney "shoul- 
ders," which would otherwise mar the beauty of the 
schoolrooms. 

The upper hall need not extend through the building. 
The ends may be cut off by partitions (constructed largely 
of glass, to permit the passage of light from without). The 
chambers thus formed should be suitably furnished for the 
private use of teachers, for reading, study, or consultation 
at times of intermission. Often children become ill in 
school, and require a quiet, retired room for immediate use. 
Accidents occur, and home care and appliances are instantly 
needed. For such cases — always liable to occur, and with- 
out warning — the wise school board and the teacher should 
prepare. 

In addition to the cloakrooms, there should be provided, 
on the lower floor, apartments for toilet use by the boys and 
girls, respectively. There should be, at least, places for 
bathing the faces and hands, and supplied with mirrors and 
other articles of toilet use. 



SCHOOL ABCHITECTUBE 103 

The principars office^ on the lower floor, should be gener- 
ously supplied with storage closets of various kinds, book- 
cases, cabinets for apparatus, etc. It is better to have these 
made permanently in the building than to have them in the 
form of heavy, clumsy articles of furniture. 

The furnace for steam heat should always be contained 
in a small building separate from the main edifice, and 
never in the basement. What parent desires his child to be 
seated over a hot boiler, and liable to injury from an explo- 
sion, if it should occur ? 

In every item of the construction, finishing, and furnish- 
ing of the building, thoughtful care should be exercised. 
Before each of the outer doorways should be a scraper, 
made of narrow, thin boards turned on edge, separated by 
small blocks of wood, and strung upon horizontal iron rods, 
passing through auger holes. This should be so placed that 
it can be easily removed, so as to recover any article that 
may be dropped between the boards, or to clean away the 
scrapings of dirt from the shoes of the person using it. 

The clock shelves should be so placed that the time can 
be seen readily from the hall, and compared with that of 
the principal's watch or with a regulator in the hall. 

Teachers and school officers should make use of opportu- 
nities which may occur for visiting the schoolhouses of 
different cities and towns — especially the newer build- 
ings — and should observe carefully the details of their 
construction and arrangement. It should be borne in mind 
that nothing is too small for consideration Avhich has a bear- 
ing upon the convenience and comfort of so many people as 
make use of a school building. 

Everything, from the adjustment of the smallest cabinet 
latch to the arrangement of the largest rooms, is worthy of 
intelligent consideration. Only by constant observation and 
comparison of buildings in little things, by the teachers 
throughout the country, can we expect to achieve the high- 
est success in the development of school architecture. 



104 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

No false modesty should deter the teacher froni consider- 
ing in detail the plans and furnishings of toilet and retiring 
rooms for the children. Much better would it have been 
had these been the subjects of more intelligent considerar 
tion and discussion in years gone by. In the estimate of a 
school by a practical educator many things which teachers 
sometimes note but little, if at all, often enter very largely 
into the judgment of the observer. 

There are many old schoolhouses now in use which vio- 
late in their construction nearly all the canons of modern 
school architecture. Many of these old schoolhouses will 
stand for years to come. It is often the case that they can 
be greatly improved by inexpensive alterations — by changes 
in certain windows and doors, by the introduction of appli- 
ances for heating, ventilation, etc. 

Sometimes a little artistic effect produced upon the exte- 
rior will greatly improve the appearance of an old building. 
Unsightly, weather-beaten cupolas can be made to assume 
more tasteful forms, or can be removed altogether. Old 
brick walls can be made to appear almost handsome, if 
painted a rich dark red color, with narrow pencilings of 
black. 

The older the building, the greater is its need for an 
annual cleansing and renovation throughout. This is as 
necessary as the periodic house cleaning in a home. Let 
the teacher and the school ofiicer, acting in concert, evolve 
intelligent plans for the expenditure of the available funds in 
securing for the children the benefits of schoolhouses intelli- 
gently planned, generously furnished, and kept always in 
good repair. 



CHAPTER V 
SCHOOL HYGIENE 

Ventilation and Heating. — All wlio have read the old-time 
school novel of Locke Amsden will recall its forcible delinea- 
tion of the unventilated schoolroom, and the almost fatal 
effects of foul air upon the schoolmaster's pupils. 

In a later novel of graded school life, Roderick Hume, 
there is an amusing account of the principal's attempt to 
elucidate the subject of ventilation upon the occasion of a 
public gathering, and of an error from which he was rescued 
by the timely assistance of one of the teachers. This inci- 
dent of Bardeen's clever story is related as follows : 

" To enforce this last topic, he undertook to show them 
how soon the audience in the schoolroom would die if the 
ingress of fresh air were suddenly cut off. He had prepared 
the measurement of the room and the amount of air breathed 
per hour by each individual ; so he put these figures upon 
the board, and proceeded to calculate how long it would take 
to convert all the oxygen present into carbonic acid. With 
customary self-reliance he had omitted the precaution to 
work the problem out beforehand, and he could not see why 
it was that, instead of an hour or two, it would take weeks 
to approximately exhaust the oxygen. He began to floun- 
der, the people present to giggle, and the scholars to wonder 
what could be the trouble. Just then Miss Lowe slipped 
along the desk, under his eye, a piece of paper on which 
was written : 

Air 1 per cent COo ivill not support life, 
105 



106 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

"No one else had seen the motion, but Eoderick caught 
the hint as a drowning man clutches at a straw. 

" ' I see that you smile/ he said, ^ and well you may. It 
is by this sort of reasoning that builders deceive themselves 
and murder their occupants. If it were true, as I have 
assumed, that air can be breathed until all the oxygen is 
converted into carbonic acid, the danger of ill ventilation 
would be comparatively small. But what is the fact ? One 
half per cent of carbonic acid produces headache, 1 per cent 
faintness, li per cent numbness, and 2 per cent death. 
These are the figures for you and for your children to re- 
member, and I implore you never to reason that air can be 
breathed over and over till all its oxygen is exhausted.' 

" The people remarked, as they left the schoolroom, that 
Eoderick was an orator as well as a scholar. By no other 
way than by pretending for the moment to be himself misled 
could he so forcibly have impressed upon them the minute 
proportion of carbonic acid which makes the air deadly." 

So much has been written concerning the necessity for 
adequate ventilation of schoolrooms, that it is unnecessary 
here to argue the case. 

"For schoolrooms," says Dr. C. Gilman Currier, in his 
recent work on Practical Hygiene, "the lowest standard 
amount of fresh air to be supplied every hour for each 
pupil is set at 1800 feet. This is at the rate of 30 cubic 
feet per minute. Some schools receive twice this amount 
of fresh air for each scholar. A number of schools have 45 
cubic feet a minute allowed for every child that the room 
can accommodate. Unfortunately, very many schools are 
exceedingly deficient in this respect. Where the pupils are 
not children, 45 cubic feet per minute ought to be the lowest 
amount supplied for each individual." 

It must be remembered that children are far more suscep- 
tible than adults to injury from atmospheric poisons ; and 
that such injury often acts slowly and almost imperceptibly 
upon the system, its cumulative effects being exhibited after 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 107 

a considerable period of time, and when it is too late to 
repair tlie harm that has been done to their systems. 
, Among the appliances of the present time to secure the 
proper ventilation of schoolrooms are improved systems of 
heating, by means of which warm, fresh air is admitted to 
the schoolroom, and shafts for carrying off the impnre air. 
However beneficial these appliances may be, they must not 
be relied upon exclusively. 

" Nothing," says T. M. Clark, ^^ can take the place of aerar 
tion by means of open windows. Artificial ventilation, 
though required for changing the air when the windows are 
necessarily closed, is insufiicient, even under the best of cir- 
cumstances, unless the room is from time to time thoroughly 
refreshed and purified by the sweep of the free winds through 
all its windows widely opened. 

" Such an atmospheric washing should be secured three or 
four times daily in all weathers ; at recess, particularly, it 
should be insisted on, banishing teachers and pupils from 
the room meanwhile, if necessary. They will more than 
make up in the brightness of the remaining hours for the 
time they must lose. Immediately after school, morning 
and afternoon, the process should be repeated for a longer 
time ; and just before school, also, if the room can be warmed 
again quickly enough. 

^^No fixed transom lights or immovable arched heads 
should be permitted to exist over the windows, subtracting 
from the most useful portion of the opening. The large, heavy 
sashes common in the more pretentious buildings should be 
rehung with rawhide cord or copper chain, if necessary, and 
pulleys with friction rollers, balanced so as to move with a 
touch; while in new buildings the size and weight of the 
sashes should be carefully kept down, no sash being over 3 
feet wide or If inches thick. Eyes must be fixed to the 
upper sashes, and a pole and hook furnished to handle them 
with, or, still better, cords fastened to each sash hanging 
within easy reach, and pulleys to raise or lower them at 



108 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

will ; and the window frames must be perfectly made, with 
cherry beads, and looked after from time to time to see that 
all is in working order. 

"Besides the general airings in which all the windows are 
thrown wide open, it is possible and very desirable during 
three fourths of the year to keep some of them partly open. 
If they extend to the ceiling, the upper part, at least, of the 
south windows, in rooms properly supplied with other fresh 
air inlets, may be pretty widely opened in the coldest 
weather without causing a noticeable draught. Such open- 
ings, if on the leeward side, often interfere with the action 
of extraction shafts, by drawing to themselves the current 
of escaping air ; but this is of no importance in the build- 
ings we are considering. 

"There are times, however, when windows cannot be 
opened, and means must be provided for insuring the with- 
drawal of the respired air from the room in some other way." 
Concerning the use of air shafts for ventilating schoolrooms 
this architectural critic comments upon a very common mis- 
understanding of their powers and properties : 

" Nothing is more common or more absurd," says he, " than 
to see rough ventilation flues, 4 by 8 inches, built in walls 
without any provision for heating them, under the supposi- 
tion that they will ' draw ' ; or to see tiny pipes, from the foul- 
est places, introduced into chimneys which are cold half the 
time, in the expectation that the ' forced draught,' which is 
imagined to exist there, will suck up and carry off deleteri- 
ous vapor as fast as a square yard of filth can generate it. 

" All talk of ' forced ventilation ' by means of a shaft with- 
out fans or steam jets is misleading. The action of every 
such shaft or chimney, warmed or not, is precisely anal- 
ogous to the movement of two boys balanced on a see-saw. 
If their weight is equal, neither moves ; if one is slightly 
heavier, he descends and the other ascends, but his motion 
would not be fairly described by saying that he was ' forced 
into the air.' 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 109 

" So with ventilating shafts ; the column of air in them is 
balanced against a column of the same size and height out- 
side of them. If the outer air is cold and that in the shaft 
warm, either from artificial heat or by communicating with 
a warm room, the latter column will be slightly lighter, be- 
cause, being expanded, a given volume contains less weight. 
This difference of weight, if there is not too much friction 
in the chimney or elsewhere to be overcome, will incline the 
balance, and the air in the chimney will rise, cold air de- 
scending to take its place. The actual difference of weight 
between the column of air in a chimney 12 inches square 
and 30 feet high at a temperature of 100° F. and an equiva- 
lent volume at 32° F. would be 5 ounces ; and this, deduct- 
ing the friction of both the ascending and descending 
currents, will be the measure of the ascensive force of the 
air in the shaft. 

"Without artificial heat, the ascensive power is much 
less — infinitesimal, often ; and in summer the current in a 
chimney is at least half the time reversed, the evaporation 
of the hygrometric dampness of the masonry cooling the 
air within it below the temperature of the surrounding 
atmosphere. 

" This force, feeble though it be, is all we have to depend 
upon, and it need hardly be said that all obstructions to its 
action must be avoided. The common cause of defective ac- 
tion is insufficient fresh air supply. The movement of the 
balance depends wholly on the freedom of action of both its 
sides, and the heated column has no force to spare for suck- 
ing in cold air through inadequate openings to supply the 
place which it leaves ; still less has it the power of going off 
by itself, leaving a vacuum behind ; unless the cold air is 
ready in equal measure to supply its place, the warmer col- 
umn will wait for it — in other words, stagnate — and there 
will be no draught. This is the condition of most existing 
ventilation flues nine tenths of the year, as is easily shown 
by holding a light handkerchief before them. 



110 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

" Vice versa, if f resli air is to be introduced into a room, 
provision must be made for the escai^e of foul air. The 
experiment of attempting to blow into the mouth of a bottle 
will impress this fact upon the mind, and will show why it 
is that many rooms supplied with hot air from furnaces can= 
not be warmed until a window or other outlet is opened, 
allowing the pent-up atmosphere to escape and the fresh 
supply to enter in its place. In order, then, that there 
may be a flow of air through the room, not only must the 
withdrawing shaft be large, straight, and smooth, that the 
inevitable friction of the air upon its walls may not materi- 
ally obstruct the outward flow, but the inlet openings must 
be also ample and unobstructed, any hindrance to the inward 
flow being equally a check to the outward current. 

" To use a homely illustration, the room to be ventilated 
may be imagined to be traversed by the lower end of a huge 
atmospheric roller towel. It makes no difference whether 
we pull one side down or the other side up to secure a 
movement ; but if the towel is obstructed in any part of its 
course the whole is brought to a standstill. Eecollecting 
also that to i^ull down a common roller towel actually takes 
more power than the whole force ordinarily available for 
moving the entire atmosphere of a large room, the total 
ascensive power of the usual ventilating shaft seldom ex- 
ceeding one or two ounces, the imperative necessity for 
avoiding friction will be evident. 

"The principal means to this end is the enlargement of 
the shafts, the friction increasing only directly as the perim- 
eter, while the capacity increases as its square. For this 
reason, a round shaft two feet in diameter will carry off 
about as much air as six shafts each one foot in diameter, 
and in square pipes the difference is still greater. Besides 
being large, the shaft must be straight, an elbow consti- 
tuting a very serious obstruction; and it must be round 
or square, and as smooth as possible, to lessen the friction 
against its walls." 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 111 

The difficulties of ventilating schoolrooms are enhanced 
when they are overcrowded. It is said by high authority 
that the smallest room space to be allotted to an adult in an 
ordinary room where there are not exceptional provisions to 
secure the ventilation should be not less than half the 1800 
cubic feet of air needed every hour. That is to say, an adult 
person requires 900 cubic feet of room space. 

The smallest schoolroom space provided for each child, 
we are told, ought to be 250 cubic feet, even where there is 
an excellent system of ventilation. Electric fans are some- 
times employed to force pure air into school buildings. As 
yet they have not come into very general use, because of the 
expense and care required to maintain them. 

The normal temperature of the schoolroom is generally 
stated to be about 70° F. It is better that the temperature 
fall slightly below this than slightly above. Temperatures 
between 65° and 68° are recommended by the highest author- 
ities. It is not easy to secure an even ventilation throughout 
the schoolroom. Where stoves are used, a large room should 
contain two of medium size rather than one very large stove. 
There should be provided inlets for the admission of fresh 
air where the stoves are located. The stove should be pro- 
vided with a screen, or "jacket," to insure the distribution 
of the air that has been warmed and the warming of the 
fresh air as it enters the room. 

On the subject of furnace heat, Mr. T. M. Clark makes 
the following suggestions : 

" It is much disputed whether furnace registers should be 
in walls or floor, or, if in the wall, at what height. Eor 
large buildings with strong ventilation the best position 
seems to be in the wall, 6 feet or so above the floor. Then 
the current warms to some extent the lower strata of the 
atmosphere of the room, without blowing directly upon any 
one, and the tendency of the hot air to collect at the ceiling 
is counteracted by the draught toward the lower register of 
the ventilating shaft. Where the ventilation is as feeble, as 



112 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

it will generally be without fans or special sources of lieat 
in the shaft, this tendency of the hot current to rise out of 
reach cannot be overcome ; and although the fresh warm air, 
like an inverted lake filling up from below, finally reaches 
the occupants of the room, much of its heat is wasted in 
warming the ceiling. So that for such cases, which include 
most small buildings, the best position for registers will be 
either low in the wall, and directed so that the strong hori- 
zontal current from them will not annoy any one, or in the 
floor, where the natural disposition of the air to rise is coun- 
teracted by its clinging to the floor, along which it travels 
horizontally a considerable distance before leaving it to 
ascend to the upper regions. Ploor registers are liable to 
gather dust ; they must be kept clean. 

"An inconvenient breeze from a register, either hot or 
cold, may be lessened without diminishing the supply of air, 
by widening the box or pipe in trumpet shape, with the 
mouth toward the exit, and putting on a larger register plate. 
Wire gauze either over or under the register will also do 
much to diffuse the current gently. 

"Eurnaces should be set under the northwest corner of 
the building, and registers may be placed in the four angles ; 
the greater length of pipe needed to reach the southern reg- 
isters, and the consequent obstruction by friction, will be 
compensated for by the natural circulation of the air in the 
room, upward on the sunny side and downward on the cold 
side, so that the delivery will be uniform at all the registers, 
which it will not be if the furnace is centrally placed. 
Stoves, also, heat more equally if set in the coldest corner. 

" Eegisters and the so-called ventilating stoves should not 
be situated so near the opening of the ventilating shaft that 
the air from them will be drawn into the shaft as fast as 
delivered. The best position is at the same end of the room 
as the shaft, but at one side. Then, the lower inlet only of 
the shaft being open, the upward tendency of the warm, 
fresh air from the heater will carry it up out of reach before 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 113 

it can be drawn laterally far enough to enter the shaft. It 
will then move along the ceiling to the further end of the 
room, descend to the floor by cooling, and will be drawn 
back into the ventilator only after a circulation through the 
room more extended and thorough than could be attained 
with any other relative position of outlet and inlet. 

" A serious difl&culty is often experienced, both with base- 
ment furnaces and ventilating stoves, through the action of 
the wind on the exterior opening of the cold air box or 
other fresh air supply. It is customary to direct these 
toward the north or northwest, and the result is, that with a 
high wind from that quarter the air is driven through the 
air chamber of the furnace and up through the registers 
much faster than it can be warmed. 

" The usual remedy is to close the damper in the air box, 
so that the sectional area of the inward current shall be 
diminished in proportion to its increased velocity. If the 
air box were tight and the wind steady, this would be cor- 
rect; but in practice, the wind comes in puffs, to guard 
against which the damper is too much closed, and, the nor- 
mal supply of air being thus curtailed, the furnace, to make 
up the deficiency, draws from the cellar, through the cracks 
and pores of the air chamber and box, such air as it can find. 

" If, on the contrary, the sheltered side of the building is 
chosen for taking in fresh air supply, a strong wind from 
the opposite quarter will create a vacuum on the lee side of 
the house strong enough to reverse the natural current, and 
will draw air out of the building, through the registers and 
air chamber of the furnace, the warm air issuing at the ori- 
fice where the cold should go in. This is not a rare occur- 
rence, and cannot be remedied without some trouble. 

"To obviate both these diflB.culties and insure a steady 
and sufficient supply to the stove or furnace at all times, it 
is only necessary to carry the cold air box through the 
building, with orifices at each end ; the furnace is then sup- 
plied by means of a short pipe, drawing from the side of 

SCH. INT. & DUT. — 8 



114 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

the main box at right angles with. it. The wind may then 
blow through the main box at will, without disturbing the 
furnace, which takes from the stream just what it needs 
and no more. Where several registers are to be supplied 
with cold fresh air for mixing with warm, a similar large 
main box, tapped at right angles by the minor pipes, forms 
much the best arrangement. 

"If the force of the wind still makes itself felt in the 
rooms, a further check may be found in a screen made of 
two thicknesses of wire gauze, with wool loosely picked and 
spread between them. Independent of its use for checking 
the force of the current, this ^air filter' is valuable for 
straining out dust and soot where the fresh air supply is 
unavoidably taken from a street or other dusty place." 

The system of steam heating is growing in popularity. 
It has the advantage of superior manageability ; for while 
it is necessary that the furnace be in the lower part of the 
house, in order that the hot air may rise through the build- 
ing, the source of the steam heat may be in any part of the 
building, or in a separate structure built for the purpose — 
the latter being by far the better arrangement. 

While the furnace system supplies not only heat, but also 
ventilation, the hot pipes of the steam-heating apparatus sup- 
ply heat only, leaving the supply of fresh air to be secured 
by other means. Steam can be carried to a long distance, 
and it is unnecessary that the intervening space through 
which it passes shall be heated to any considerable extent. 

The form of steam heat which is generally preferred is 
that of low pressure — four or five pounds to the square 
inch. The circuit is generally made with two pipes — a 
larger one for the passage of the steam, and a smaller one 
for the return of the condensed vapor and the water. Eadi- 
ators are used, in such number as may be required, each 
constituting a smaller circuit of its own, connected with the 
main pipes. The radiators have generally a rough exterior 
as such surfaces radiate heat more rapidly. 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 115 

Tlie warming of tlie room is effected by the condensation 
of the steam, for in this there is much heat given off. In 
the process of condensation there is a rarefaction of the air 
in the radiators ; and with the best of appliances for sup- 
plying air to equalize the pressure, there is often a disagree- 
able noise as a result of the partial vacuum thus produced. 

Unless efB-cient and adequate means be provided for the 
admission of fresh air and the drawing off of the vitiated 
air of the schoolroom, steam heating is not to be com- 
mended. It does not add to the quantity of fresh air in the 
room, nor does it remove any of the foul air. It produces 
but a slight current or movement of air. In this respect it 
is very different from the system of furnace heat, which 
throws into a chamber a constant current of warm, fresh 
air ; it is also very different from the system of heating by 
means of stoves of whatever description — for these cause a 
draught which carries away much of the foul air. 

However, there is no reason why the system of steam 
heating should not be rendered entirely satisfactory by mak- 
ing ample provision for the ventilation of the rooms — as is 
often done where this system is in use. 

By systems of indirect steam heating (as they are called) 
the advantages of furnace heat and of steam heat may be 
combined. The fresh air may be admitted in the basement, 
and, passing through a coil of steam pipes, may be distrib- 
uted through the buildings, as in the case of an ordinary 
furnace; or, fresh air may be admitted into the various 
rooms through the outer walls, in such a way as to pass 
through the radiators and become heated in its passage. 

The system of hot water heating has been successfully 
applied in many schools. It is based upon the principle 
that hot water will rise and cold water will fall in a complete 
circuit of water pipes, and that there will be a continuous 
current when the heat is applied to a portion of the circuit. 
The water rises in the ascending pipes as it becomes warm ; 
and, as it cools, it descends with the descent of the pipes. 



116 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Since water employed for heating purposes is kept at 
a temperature much lower than that of steam, radiators 
larger than those of the steam-heating system are employed 
in its use. The tank which supplies the water is elevated 
to a point as high as the radiators in the upper rooms, and 
is connected with the circuit of pipes in such a way as to 
permit the free flow of the water. Since there are no valves 
in the tank, no difficulty is experienced from the expansion 
and contraction of the water in the pipes as it becomes 
hotter, and then colder. The system of hot water heating, 
like that of steam heating, does not provide for currents of 
fresh air, nor for the withdrawal of vitiated air of the 
schoolroom, and these must be provided for, in addition. 

In comparing the various systems of heating schoolrooms, 
Dr. Currier says as follows : 

'^ It may be stated that hot-air furnaces of the best quality 
(properly put up), if never overheated and always carefully 
supplied with fresh air from a pure source, give the best 
results in heating an ordinary house and, at the same time, 
ventilating it. 

"In very large houses, that are much exposed to cold 
weather, a hot-water system as an auxiliary is excellent for 
supplying equable, extra warmth by means of radiators used 
on the lower floor and on the bleakest side of the house. 

"For warming larger buildings, such as, for instance, 
schoolhouses, a good furnace arrangement can be both eco- 
nomical and very satisfactory. This is notably the case with 
medium-sized buildings. For the largest structures, and 
especially when they are not compact, steam heating by the 
indirect system is the most satisfactory. It is usually more 
expensive than the hot-air furnace. 

" Exhaust flues for ventilating — that is, for drawing out 
the bad air — are a very desirable addition to all buildings. 
With heating, ventilation should be combined. 

" As regards the comparative cost of steam and hot water 
for warming, it may be said that steam usually costs more 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 117 

to operate. Some recent careful observations made at the 
Cornell Agricultural Station (Bulletin 41, August, 1892) 
showed that where there were many bends in the pipes and 
long levels, steam was considerably cheaper than water, 
regardless of the styles of heaters. Others have reached 
similar conclusions. In Massachusetts and elsewhere, how- 
ever, hot water heating has been found to be cheaper than 
the use of steam, when once the pipes and radiators were 
set. This is in conformity with what general theoretical 
conclusions allow one to suppose. To determine which is 
the better method for heating, one must carefully consider 
the situation, as hot water can be a more costly means of 
heating than steam. 

" Under the most favorable conditions for hot water heat- 
ing, it appears slightly less expensive than heating by hot 
air or steam, when once the very costly piping is intro- 
duced." 

Cleanliness. — A very important sanitary consideration in 
any school is the cleanliness of the building. The rooms 
should be carefully swept, and the dust should be wiped 
from the furniture and the wainscoting — not thrown into 
the air by means of a feather duster. Heavy moldings and 
projections of woodwork, which catch the dust, are by no 
means desirable in a schoolroom. The floor should be fre- 
quently gone over with a slightly-dampened mop. 

The principal should make careful examinations of the 
basement. Too frequently this is neglected, and the base- 
ment rooms become littered with refuse materials. An 
investigation will sometimes disclose, stored away in the 
basement, highly inflammable oils and kindling, old chem- 
ical apparatus and supplies of a dangerous character, piles 
of old furniture carelessly stored, affording hiding places 
for vermin and accumulating dust and dampness. The 
basement should be kept dry and clean, and should be a 
receptacle for only such materials as can be stored in it 
with entire safety. 



118 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Very much will depend upon the janitor, whose selection 
and retention should be conditioned upon his efficiency in 
all the details of his work. A careless, indolent janitor 
may be the cause of untold inconvenience and misery to 
teachers and pupils. It sometimes happens that the janitor 
is appointed to his place without a careful consideration of 
the requirements of the service. Sometimes the position is 
given to an aged or incompetent person, as a matter of char- 
ity or of personal favor. In the janitorship, true civil ser- 
vice principles should strictly prevail. The janitor should be 
a willing, intelligent, conscientious, and in every way efficient 
person. Experience will add to the value of his services. 

The hygiene of the school demands cleanliness, not only 
of the building, but of the pupils, as well. Sometimes this 
is difficult to secure, even when ample lavatories are pro- 
vided in the school buildings. Of course, it is the duty of 
the parent to see that the child is cleanly and well-kept. 
Unfortunately, however, parents are sometimes derelict in 
this matter, and the duty devolves upon the already over- 
burdened teacher. Some principals require that the pupil 
shall have his shoes thoroughly cleaned and polished before 
coming to school, and for a failure in this respect will mark 
a demerit upon the record of the pupil's deportment. 

With proper conveniences supplied in the lavatory of the 
schoolroom, there is no reason why the children should not 
always appear with clean hands and faces, and with hair well 
brushed. The teacher's duty, however, does not end here. 

Dentists who have conducted investigations of the teeth 
of pupils in the public schools have made, sometimes, sur- 
prising revelations. In the case of many pupils, the teeth 
become carious and offensive. What can the teacher do to 
remedy or mitigate this evil ? By the exercise of tact he 
can impress practical lessons in the hygiene of the teeth, 
without giving offense to any. While making his talks on 
the subject general, he can, at the same time, make them 
personally felt. 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 119 

Care of the Eyes. — Investigations made by oculists in tlie 
schoolrooms liave revealed a strong tendency to myopia, or 
nearsightedness, as a result of the pupils' study. This ten- 
dency is far less where the true principles of lighting are 
observed in building the schoolhouses. Where the rooms 
are properly lighted, and the pupils are instructed how to 
hold their books, there yet remains the further consideration 
of suitable type and paper for schoolbooks. 

Whatever the merits of a text-book for school use, if its 
type be such as to cause injury to the eyes, it should be 
condemned. The smaller pupils require larger type than 
those of the more advanced grades. The primers and first 
readers are prepared with this fact in view. Without being 
an expert in all forms of typography, the teacher should 
acquire a sufficient familiarity with the more important 
sizes of type generally employed in books, and should be 
competent to pass upon the merits of a text-book in respect 
to its typography. In books of higher mathematics, the 
exponential letters and figures are frequently so small as to 
prove very trying to the sight. 

Position at Desk, etc. — In the matter of school desks and 
seating, there is room for the exercise of careful discrimina^ 
tion and judgment, for into this, important physiological 
considerations necessarily enter. With the best of school 
seats and desks, it is possible for children to do themselves 
harm by sitting in unnatural positions, resting upon their 
elbows, and in various ways warping their figure out of its 
proper shape. 

The pupils should learn to sit erect, with the shoulders 
even and thrown back, and with the soles of both feet rest- 
ing naturally upon the floor. They should walk and stand 
erect. Their gait should be natural. They should not " toe 
in." With the shoulders thrown back, the arms will fall 
naturally in such a position that the thumbs will be inclined 
outward. With the chest expanded and the head erect, 
there will be much less danger of diseases of the lungs. 



120 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Food and Water. — Even in the pupils' eating, the teacher's 
influence should be exerted to some extent. While he can- 
not meddle with the household economy of the parents, he 
can give force and effect to the lessons of the text-books in 
physiology, so that the pupil will have an enlightened under- 
standing of the common foods, their uses and abuses. 

As to the water which the pupils drink at school, the 
school officers and teachers have a direct responsibility which 
should not be ignored. Water for drinking purposes must 
be clean and pure. Suitable water for drinking cannot be 
secured, generally, without much thought and care and some 
expense. The sources of its supply should be carefully in- 
vestigated, and every precaution should be taken to prevent 
its contamination. 

The evil effects of drinking impure water, like those of 
breathing impure air, are often long concealed, or, at least, 
are not conspicuously noticeable. They often cause epidem- 
ics and deplorable loss of life in the end, while this might 
have been easily avoided by a little thought and care on the 
part of those having in charge the water supply. 

The responsibility of teachers and school officers for the 
health and comfort of the pupils is very great. It is no 
light charge to be accountable for the physical well-being 
of the scores or hundreds of children and youths in a school. 

The teacher owes it to the parents in whose place he 
stands, to the board by which he is employed, to the pupils 
especially, and to himself, as well, to take a deep interest in 
the hygienic conditions of his school, and to post himself 
thoroughly upon the subject by every means in his power; 
and the school officer, guided by his personal observation, 
by the teacher's knowledge of the hygienic necessities of 
the building and appliances, and by such other suggestions 
as come to him from reliable sources of information, should 
feel the responsibility resting upon him to provide all things 
within his pov/er to supply for the health, comfort^ order, 
and happiness of the children at school, 



IV 

ARBOR DAY CELEBRATIONS 
THE DICTIONARY, AND HOW TO USE IT 



CHAPTER VI 
ARBOR DAY CELEBRATIONS 

Origin and History of Arbor Day. — Nebraska lias the honor 
of originating the celebration of Arbor Day. In 1874, at the 
request of the State Board of Agriculture, the Governor of 
the State appointed the second Wednesday of April as a day 
for the planting of trees by the citizens generally, and it is 
said that millions of trees were planted on that day. 

In Kansas the day was first observed in the city of 
Topeka, in accordance with a proclamation by the mayor 
of that city. Other States which were deficient in timber 
fell rapidly in line. Then still other States began to observe 
the day as a school holiday, which was devoted not merely 
to the planting of trees, but to the beautifying of school 
grounds as well. 

If Arbor Days are necessary in the prairie States, they 
are not less needed in States in which timber abounds. In 
almost every rural district there is need for improvement in 
the grounds about the schoolhouse. The day has, moreover, 
its social and moral benefits, which are not to be rated 
lightly. It affords an opportunity for neighborhood visit- 
ing and consultation. It brings together the teacher, the 
parents, and the pupils, and prevents estrangements be- 
tween them. It gives to all a new interest in the school 
and its work. It affords an opportunity to present to the 
parties most interested the school needs of the hour. 

The time for Arbor Day is generally chosen in the latter 
part of April or the first of May. In New York the day is a 

123 



124 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

State holidajj and is designated as the first Friday following 
the first day of May. In Iowa the 27th of April (the birth- 
day of General Grant) has been thus observed. In most 
States the selection of the day is made from year to year, 
and the celebration is appointed by proclamation of the 
Governor or by request of the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. A notable celebration of Arbor Day occurred 
in Cincinnati, in 1882, when the city schools were dis- 
missed for two days (April 27 and 28), and the pupils of 
all grades participated in the exercises. 

These were held in Eden Park, of that city. About six 
acres of the Park were set apart for an Authors' Grove, and 
each school or department selected an author in whose 
memory a tree was planted. The planting of the trees was 
performed by practical horticulturists on this occasion, but 
the pupils filled around the trees the loose soil left for that 
purpose, and their musical and literary exercises were long 
to be remembered. The names of the authors in whose 
honor the trees were set out were preserved by lettered 
stone markers. 

The fame of Authors' Grove and of its originator, John 
B. Peaslee, soon became national, and a very general incen- 
tive to celebrations of this sort was given to the schools of 
the entire country. The cause was aided by the active 
influence of Hon. B. G. Northrop, who delivered addresses 
in many States on the subject of landscape gardening for 
school grounds. 

In 1883 the American Forestry Congress, in its session at 
St. Paul, Minn., recommended the appointment of an Arbor 
Day in every State and in all the Provinces of the Dominion 
of Canada. 

Unless material good can be accomplished, the interrup- 
tion of the studies of the school for an Arbor Day celebra- 
tion will prove unprofitable. The judicious teacher, however, 
will be certain to make the most of the opportunity which 
the day presents for securing needful cooperation. Then it 



ARBOR DAY CELEBRATIONS 125 

is that unsightly piles of lumber, coal, firewood, logs, or 
other materials can be removed from the yards ; sheds for 
fuel can be built or repaired ; wells can be cleaned, walks 
laid, and fences mended. Beautiful flower beds can be con- 
structed. Ungainly or noxious trees and vines can be cut 
away, admitting the wholesome sunlight. 

A moral effect of the Arbor Day celebrations in Cincinnati 
was noted by Superintendent Peaslee in his address on the 
subject to the Department of Superintendence at Washing- 
ton, in 1884. In many cities, on holiday occasions, it has 
been found necessary to post a large number of special 
policemen to guard the trees of the parks from the knives 
of vandals. Not a tree was injured at Eden Park by any 
one of the many thousands of school children, who had 
unusual opportunities for perpetrating mischief of this 
description. 

Choice of Trees. — The choice of trees for planting in 
school grounds should be made with some care. Trees of 
offensive odor, and those which attract insects, litter the 
ground, sprout at the roots, bear thorns, and prove other- 
wise objectionable should be avoided. As a rule, the trees 
which grow wild in the same locality are most certain of 
a vigorous growth, and it is not necessary to go to the 
expense and trouble of procuring exotics, though a few of 
the latter may afford a pleasing variety and prove of special 
interest to the pupils. 

Where shade is urgently needed, rapidly growing trees 
are often preferred, though these are the earliest to die, and 
are apt to become unsightly within a few years. If such 
trees be used at all, their retention should be considered 
temporary at best, and more substantial trees of slower 
growth should be set out at the same time, to supply the 
shade for the future, when the rapid growers shall have 
been cleared away. 

Of the trees which yield a quick return and achieve an 
early growth, the Silver Maple (Acer dasycarpum), the Caro- 



126 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

lina Poplar (Populus moniliferd), and the Box Elder (Negundo 
aceraides) are familiar to all. Among tlie best of all trees 
for the school yard are the Sugar Maple (Ace^r sachari- 
num), the Eed Maple (Acer rubrum), the Linden, or Bass- 
wood {Tilia Americana), the Elm (JJlmus Americana), the 
White Pine (Finns strobus), and a variety of Cedars and 
Larches. 

Other desirable trees to scatter over the lawn are the 
Beech (Fagus ferruginea), the Ash (Fraxinus Americana), 
the Sycamore (Plantanus occidentalis), the Horse Chestnut, 
or Buckeye (^sculus hippocastanum), and the Chestnut 
(Castanea vesca). 

Suggestions for Planting. — A circular of the Department 
of Agriculture (U. S.) contains the following valuable sug- 
gestions : 

" Transplanting is at best a forcible operation, and injury 
to the roots, although it may be small, is almost unavoid- 
able. The roots are the life of the tree, and need, therefore, 
the most attention. In taking up a tree for transplanting, the 
greatest care must be exercised to secure as much of the 
root system intact as possible, especially of the small fibrous 
roots. 

" Never allow roots to become dry, from the time of taking 
up the tree until it is transplanted. A healthy looking tree 
may have the certainty of death in it if the root fibrils are 
dried out. To prevent drying during transportation, cover 
the roots with moist straw or moss or bags, or leave on them 
as much soil of the original bed as possible. At the place 
where the tree is to be planted, if the planting cannot be done 
at once, ^heel in' the roots, i.e., cover them and part of the 
lower stem with fresh earth, or place the tree in the plant 
hole, throwing several spadefuls of earth on the roots. 

"Pruning roots and branches is almost always necessary, 
but must be done with great care, especially as to root prun- 
ing. The cutting at the roots should be as little as possible, 
only removing with a clean sharp cut the bruised and broken 



ABB OB DAY CELEBBATI0N8 127 

parts. Extra long tap roots may be cut away, but all the 
small fibers should be preserved. The cutting at the top 
is done to bring crown and root into proportion ; the more 
loss the root system has experienced, the more need of 
reducing the crown system. Larger trees, therefore, usually 
require severer pruning, especially on poor soils ; yet if there 
be fibrous roots enough to sustain great evaporation from 
the crown, the less cut the better. With large trees severe 
pruning is less dangerous than too little. A clean cut as 
close as possible to the stem or remaining branch will facili- 
tate the healing of the wound. 

" No stumps should be left (except with conifers, which 
suffer but little pruning). Shortening of the end shoots to 
-1- or -I of their length may be done a little above a bud which 
is to take the lead. As a rule, the pruning for symmetry 
should have been done a year or so before transplanting, but 
may be done a year after. 

" Holes are best made before the trees are brought to the 
ground. They should be a little deeper than the depth of 
the root system, but twice as large around as seems neces- 
sary, to facilitate penetration of rains and development of 
rootlets through the loosened soil. Place the top soil, which 
is better (being richer in easily assimilated plant food) to 
one side, the raw soil from the bottom to the other side ; in 
filling back bring the richer soil to the bottom. 

'^ If it be practicable, improve a heavy loamy soil by add- 
ing to and mixing with it looser sandy soil, or a loose poor 
soil by enriching it with loam or compost. Keep all stones 
out of the bottom ; they may be used above the roots, or, 
better, on the surface. Providing proper drainage is the 
best means of improving ground for tree planting. Use no 
manure except as a top dressing. 

" Planting is best done by two or three persons. A, who 
manipulates the tree, is the planter and responsible for the 
result; B and C do the spading under his direction. A 
places the tree in the hole, to ascertain whether this is of 



128 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

proper size; a board or stick laid across tlie hole aids in 
judging tlie depth. 

" Trees should not be set deeper than they stood before, 
except in loose, poor soil. More trees are killed by too deep 
planting than the reverse. If the root system is developed 
sideways, but not centrally, as is often the case, a hill is 
raised in the hole to fill out the hollow space in the root 
system, and the earth of the hill is patted down with the 
spade. When the hole is in proper order, A holds the tree 
perpendicularly in the middle of the hole, with the side 
bearing the fullest branches toward the south or southwest, 
for better protection of the shaft against the sun. B and C 
spread the roots into a natural position, then fill in the 
soil, using the good soil first — small spadefuls deliberately 
thrown over the roots in all directions — while A, by a 
slight shaking and pumping up and down of the stem, aids 
the earth in settling around the rootlets. 

" A close contact of the soil with the rootlets is the secret 
of success in planting. Only fine mellow soil, not too moist, 
and free from stones, will permit such close adjustment to 
the rootlets, which should also be aided by hand and fingers 
filling in every crevice. A, while setting the tree, must 
exercise care to keep it in proper position and perpendicular, 
until the soil is packed so as to keep the tree in place ; then 
B and C rapidly fill the holes, A treading down the soil 
firmly after a sufB.cient quantity is filled in, finishing off a 
little above the general level to allow for settling, and finally 
placing the stones or any mulching around the stem. 

" The practice of using water while planting can hardly be 
said to be a good one, unless the water is very carefully ap- 
plied with a ' rose ' after the soil is well filled in and packed 
around the fibrous roots. Especially with a soil which has 
a tendency to clog, there is great danger of an uneven dis- 
tribution and settling, with consequent empty spaces between 
the roots. More trees are probably killed by too much water 
in transplanting than by too little. Water after the trans- 



ABB OB DAY CELEB BATIONS 129 

planting (and perhaps before the last shovels of earth are 
filled in), especially if the soil was dry, is useful and should 
be applied during the hot season, choosing the late afternoon 
or evening for applying it. 

" Any mulch of waste material, hay, straw, or, better, wood 
shavings or chips, sawdust, or even stones simply placed 
around the foot of the tree, is of excellent service in check- 
ing evaporation. 

" Keeping the ground free from weeds and grass, and pre- 
venting it from baking, by occasional hoeing and raking, is 
advisable. To prevent the trees from being swayed by the 
wind, if of larger size, they should be staked firmly ; a loose 
post is worse than none. The tying should be so done as 
not to cut or injure the tree ; a tree box insures more safety 
against accidents. With the development of the crown it 
becomes necessary to trim it, so as to carry the top above 
reach. Trees are not benefited by being used as hitching 
posts or as climbing poles." 

It is highly desirable that the pupils themselves shall par- 
ticipate very generally in the actual work of Arbor Day. 
They will take greater interest and pride in preserving the 
improvements to which their own labors have contributed. 

Literary Exercises. — The literary exercises of Arbor Day 
generally precede the manual work, and may be short or 
extended, as circumstances may suggest. After the cus- 
tomary opening prayer by one of the clergymen who may 
be present, the teacher or superintendent in charge should 
read the proclamation or ofB.cial letter of the Governor or 
the Superintendent of Public Instruction appointing the 
observance of the day. 

Letters may be read from former teachers or superin- 
tendents, and from any distinguished educator or other per- 
sons who may with propriety be invited to contribute in 
this way to the interest of the occasion. Suitable music 
should be provided, and singing in the open air is always 
enjoyable. 

SCH. INT. & DUT, 9 



130 SCHOOL INTE BESTS AND DUTIES 

A number of books and pamphlets of suitable literary 
exercises for Arbor Day have been published, from time to 
time, and there need be no lack of appropriate material for 
a programme. 

In order that the greatest number of pupils may par- 
ticipate without prolonging these exercises to an extent 
that will prove wearisome, it is well to have the selec- 
tions for recitation generally very short. These may be 
interspersed with a few pieces of some length, and by other 
exercises that may suggest themselves to the teacher. It is 
unnecessary to call the names of the speakers. If number 
cards are distributed among the pupils, each will know his 
place on the programme by counting the speakers preceding 
him. Small cards with numbers marked upon them may be 
placed in a basket or box and drawn by the children at some 
convenient time and place. 

It may happen at times that the outdoor work of Arbor 
Day will be found unnecessary, or that, for other reasons, it 
will be dispensed with. In that case, the literary exercises 
of the day may be simplified. In a schoolroom suitably 
decorated there may be an appropriate observance of the 
day, even though it occupy but a minor part of the daily 
programme. 

The following short selections will be found appropriate 
for Arbor Day exercises in which a large number of chil- 
dren participate : 

1. When the warm sun, that brings 

Seedtime and harvest, has returned again, 
'Tis sweet to visit the still wood, where springs 
The first flower of the plain. 

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

2. The pine forests thrill with emotion 

Of i^raise, as the spirit sweeps by : 

With a voice like the murmur of ocean. 

To the soul of the listener they cry. 



ARBOR DAY CELEBRATIONS 131 \ 

Oh ! sing, human heart, like the fountain, ! 

With joy reverential and free, ; 

Contented and calm as the mountain, i 

And deep as the woods and the sea. 

— Charles T. Brooks. ? 

J 

3. There is no death ! The dust we tread I 

Shall change, beneath the summer showers, 

To golden grain or mellow fruit ": 

Or rainbow-tinted flowers. ^ 

— Lord Lytton. \ 

4. One impulse from a vernal wood \ 

May teach you more of man, , 

Of moral evil, and of good, • 

Than all the sages can. \ 

— William Wordsworth. ^ 

1 

5. Tor there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout \ 

again, '\ 

And that the tender branch thereof will not cease. i 
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, * ■ 

And the stock thereof die in the ground ; ' j 

Yet through the scent of water it will bud, 1 

And put forth boughs like a plant. i 

— Job xiv. 7-9. \ 

6. Into the blithe and breathing air. 

Into the solemn wood, , 
Solemn and silent everywhere, 

Nature, with folded hands, seemed there j 

Kneeling at her evening prayer ; ' 

Like one in prayer I stood. ; 

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. : 

1 

7. Like leaves on trees the life of man is found, | 
Now green in youth, now withering on the ground ; 
Another race the following spring supplies, 
They fall successive and successive rise ; 
So generations in their course decay ; 
So flourish these, while those have passed away. 

— Alexander Pope. 



132 .SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

8. Alas, for him who never sees 

The stars shine through his cypress trees ; 
Who, liopeless, lays his dead away, 
Nor looks to see the breaking day 
Across the mournful marbles play ; 
Who hath not learned, in hours of faith. 
The truth to flesh and sense unknown. 
That Life is ever lord of death, 
And Love can never lose its own. 

— John Greenleaf Whittier. 

9. A little of thy steadfastness. 
Rounded with leafy gracefulness, 

Old oak, give me, — 
That the world's blasts may round me blow, 
And I yield gently to and fro. 
While my stout-hearted trunk below 

And firm-set roots unshaken be. 

— James Russell Lowell. 

10. These airs, whose breathing stirs 

The fresh grass, are our fellow-worshipers. 

See, as they pass, they swing 

The censers of a thousand flowers, that bend 

O'er the young herbs of spring. 

And the sweet odors like a prayer ascend. 

While, passing thence, the breeze 

Wakes the grave anthem of the forest trees. 

— William Cullen Bryant. 

11. Summer or winter, day or night, 
The woods are an ever new delight ; 

They give us peace, and they make us strong. 
Such wonderful balms to them belong ; 
So, living or dying, I'll take my ease 
Under the trees, under the trees. 

— Richard Henry Stoddard. 

12. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, 
neither do they spin ; and yet I say unto you that even Solomon, in 
all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God 
so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast 
into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, ye of little faith ? 

— Matthew vi. 28-30. 



ARBOR DAY CELEBRATIONS 183 

13. Oh ! Eosalind, these trees shall be my books, 
And in their barks my thoughts I'll character, 
That every eye which in this forest looks 
Shall see thy virtue vs^itnessed everywhere. 

— William Shakspeare. 

14. Out of the years bloom the eternities ; 
From earth-clogged root 

Life climbs through leaf and bud by slow degrees, 

Till some far cycle heavenly blossom sees, 

And perfect fruit. -r ^ 

^ — Lucy Larcom. 

15. The true basis of national wealth is not gold, but wood. For- 
est destruction is the sin that has caused us to lose our earthly para- 
dise. War, pestilence, storms, fanaticism, and intemperance, together 
with all other mistakes and misfortunes, have not caused half so much 
permanent damage as that fatal crime against the fertility of our 

Mother Earth. _^ ^ ^ 

— Felix L. Oswald. 

16. O whispering trees, companions, sages, friends, 
No change in you, whatever friendship ends ; 
No deed of yours the Eden link e'er broke ; 
Bared is your head, to ward the lightning's stroke. 
You fed the infant man and blessed his cot, 
Hewed from your grain ; without you, he were not. 
The hand that planned you planned the future, too ; 
Shall we distrust it, knowing such as you ? 

— Joaquin Miller. 

17. It is better to know the habits of one plant than the names of 
a thousand ; and wiser to be happily familiar with those that grow in 
the nearest field, than arduously cognizant of all that plume the isles 
of the Pacific, or illumine the Mountains of the Moon. 

— John Ruskin. 

18. This is the state of man. To-day he puts forth 
The tender leaves of hope ; to-morrow, blossoms, 
And bears his blushing honors thick upon him ; 
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost ; 

And when he thinks — good, easy man — full surely 

His greatness is a-ripening, nips his roots, 

And then he falls, as I do. ,^^ c. 

' — William Shakspeare. 



134 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES \ 

19. There is a pleasure in the pathless woods ; ; 
There is a rapture on the lonely shore ; J 
There is society where none intrudes, j 
By the deep sea, and music in its roar. ■■ 
I love not man the less, but nature more — i 
From these our interviews, in which I steal i 
From all I may be, or have been before, • 
To mingle with the universe, and feel 

What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal. : 

— Lord Byron. :| 

20. I love to go in the capricious days \ 
Of April, and hunt violets, when the rain j 
Is in the blue cups trembling, and they nod \ 
So gracefully to the kisses of the wind. ! 
It may be deemed too idle, but the young I 
Bead Nature like the manuscript of heaven, j 
And call the flowers its poetry. \ 

— Nathaniel Parker Willis. | 

I 

21. Faint murmurs from the pine tops reach my ear, ] 

As if a harp string — touched in some far sphere — | 

Vibrating in the lucid atmosphere, \ 

Let the soft south wind waft its music here. j 

— Thomas Bailey Aldrich. j 



22. . Throw hither all your quaint enameled eyes. 

That on the green turf suck the honeyed showers. 

And purple all the ground with vernal flowers. 

Bring the rathe primrose, that forsaken dies, 

The tufted crow-toe, and pale jessamine. 

The white pink, and the pansy, freaked with jet, 

The glowing violet. 

The musk rose, and the well-attired woodbine, 

With cowslips wan, that hang the pensive head. 

And every flower that sad embroidery wears. 

— John Milton. 

23. Keeping up a fit proportion of forests to arable land, is the 
prime condition of human health. If the trees go, men must decay. 
Whosoever works for the forests works for the happiness and perma- 
nence of our civilization. A tree may be an obstruction, but it is 



ABBOB DAY CELEBBATIONS 135 

never useless. Now is the time to work, if we are to be blessed and 
not cursed by the people of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. 
The nation that neglects its forests is surely destined to ruin. 

— Elizur Wright. 

24. The leaf tongues of the forest, the flower lips of the sod, 
The happy birds that hymn their rapture in the ear of God, 
The summer wind that bringeth music over land and sea, 
Have each a voice that singeth this sweet song of songs to me : 
" This world is full of beauty, like other worlds above, 

And if we did our duty, it might be full of love." 

— Gerald Masset. 

25. There is nothing that so strongly binds a man to a place as the 
bright memories of life due to cheerful homes and pleasant surround- 
ings. These cannot exist in a bleak and cheerless waste ; they can be 
secured only by timely and judicious planting of trees. 

— Franklin Benjamin Hough. 

26. Not merely growing, like a tree. 

In bulk, doth make man better be ; 

Or standing long an oak three hundred years, 

To fall a log at last, dry, bald and sear. 

A lily of a day is fairer far in May, 

Although it fall and die that night. 

It was the plant and flower of light ; 

In small proportions, we just beauties see. 

And, in short measure, life may perfect be. 

— Ben Jonson. 

27. Then rears the ash his airy crest. 
Then shines the birch in silver vest, 

And the beech in glistening leaves is dressed ; 
And, dark between, shows the oak's proud breast. 
Like a chieftain's frowning tower. 

— Sir Walter Scott. 

28. There is something unspeakably cheerful in a spot of ground 
which is covered with trees, that smiles amidst all the rigors of winter, 
and gives us a view of the most gay season in the midst of that which 
is the most dead and melancholy. 

— Joseph Addison, 



136 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

29. Trees have about them something beautiful and attractive 
even to the fancy. Since they cannot change their place, they are 
witnesses of all the changes that take place around them ; and, as 
some reach a great age, they become, as it were, historical monu- 
ments ; and, like ourselves, they have a life, growing and passing 
away, not being inanimate and unvarying, like the fields and rivers. 
One sees them passing through various stages, and at last, step by 
step, approaching death, which makes them look still more like 

ourselves. 

— Alexander vok Humboldt. 



30. Spake full well, in language quaint and olden, 

One who dwelleth by the castled Khine, 
When he called the flowers, so blue and golden, 
Stars, that in earth's firmament do shine. 

Wondrous truths, and manifold as wondrous, 

God hath written in those stars above ; 
But not less in the bright flowrets under us, 

Stands the revelation of his love. 

Everywhere about us they are glowing ; 

Some, like stars, to tell us spring is born ; 
Others, their blue eyes with tears o'erflowing, 

Stand like Kuth amid the golden corn. 

And with child-like, credulous affection, 

We behold their tender buds expand ; 
Emblems of our own great resurrection. 

Emblems of the bright and better land. 

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

31. There is something nobly simple and pure in a taste for the 
cultivation of forest trees. It argues, I think, a sweet and a generous 
nature to have this strong relish for the beauties of vegetation, and 
this friendship for the hardy and glorious sons of the forest. There 
is a grandeur of thought connected with this part of rural economy. 
. . . He who plants an oak looks forward to future ages, and plants 
for posterity. Nothing can be less selfish than this. 

— Washington Irving, 



ARBOR BAY CELEBRATIONS 137 

32. Come forth, ye children of gladness, come ! 

Where the violets lie may be now your home. 
Ye of the rose lip, and dew-bright eye. 
And the bounding footsteps, to meet me, fly ! 
With the lyre and the wreath and the joyous lay, 
Come forth to the sunshine ; I may not stay. 

— Felicia Dorothea Hemans. 



33. When you have finished a building or any other undertaking 
of the like nature, it immediately begins to decay on your hands ; you 
see it brought to its utmost point of perfection, and from that time 
hastening to its ruin. On the contrary, when you have finished 
planting a tree, it is still arriving at greater degrees of perfection, as 
long as you live, and appears more delightful in each succeeding year 
than it did in the foregoing. 

— Joseph Addison. 



34. The groves were God's first temples. Ere man learned 
To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave, 
And spread the roof above them ; ere he framed 
The lofty vault to gather and roll back 
The sound of anthems ; in the darkling wood, 
Amid the cool and silence, he knelt down 
And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks 
And supplication. For his simple heart 
Might not resist the sacred influences 
Which, from the still twilight of the place, 
And from the gray old trunks that, high in heaven, 
Mingled their mossy boughs, and from the sound 
Of the invisible breath, that swayed at once 
All their green tops, stole over him, and bowed 
His spirit with the thought of boundless power 
And inaccessible majesty. Ah, why 
Should we, in the world's riper years, neglect 
God's ancient sanctuaries, and adore 
Only among the crowd, and under roofs 
. That our frail hands have raised ? . . . Let me, at least, 
Here, in the shadow of this aged wood. 
Offer one hymn — thrice happy, if it find 
Acceptance in His ear. 

— William Cullen Bryant, 



138 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

35. For Nature beats in perfect tune, 

And rounds with rhyme her every rune ; 

"Whether she work in land or sea, 

Or hide underground her alchemy. 

Thou canst not wave thy staff in air. 

Or dip thy paddle in the lake, 

But it carves the bow of beauty there, 

And the ripples in rhymes the oar forsake. 

The wood is wiser far than thou ; 

The wood and wave each other know. 

Not unrelated, unaffied, 

But to each thought and thing allied. 

Is perfect Nature's every part, 

Kooted in the mighty Heart. 

— Ralph Waldo Emerson. 



Come, come into the wood ; 

Pierce into the bowers 

Of these gentle flowers, 

Which, not in solitude 

Dwell, but with each other keep society. 

And, with a simple piety, 

Are ready to be woven into garlands for the good ; 

Or, upon summer earth, 

To die, in virgin worth ; 

Or to be strewn before the bride, 

And the bridegroom, by her side. 

Come forth on Sundays ; 

Come forth on Mondays ; 

Come forth on any day ; 

Children, come forth to play ; — 

Worship the God of Nature in your childhood ; 

Worship Him at your tasks with best endeavor ; 

Worship Him in your sports ; worship Him ever ; 

Worship Him in the wildwood ; 

Worship Him amidst the flowers ; 

In the greenwood bowers ; 

Pluck the buttercups, and raise 

Your voices in His praise ! 

— Youi,. 



ABBOE DAY CELEBRATIONS 189 

37. He who plants a tree 

Plants a hope. 
Kootlets up through fibers blindly grope ; 
Leaves unfold into horizons free. 
So man's life must climb 
From the clods of time 
Unto heavens sublime. 
Canst thou prophesy, thou little tree, 
What the glory of thy boughs shall be ? 



He v7ho plants a tree 
Plants a joy ; 
Plants a comfort that will never cloy — 
Every day a fresh reality, 

Beautiful and strong, 

To whose shelter throng 

Creatures blithe with song. 
If thou couldst but know, thou happy tree, 
Of the bliss that shall inhabit thee. 



He who plants a tree, 
He plants peace. 
Under its green curtains jargons cease, 
Leaf and zephyr murmur soothingly ;. 

Shadows soft with sleep 

Down tired eyelids creep. 

Balm of slumber deep. 
Never hast thou dreamed, thou blessed tree, 
Of the benediction thou shalt be. 



He who plants a tree. 
He plants youth ; 

Vigor won for centuries in sooth ; 

Life of time that hints eternity ! 

Boughs their strength uprear, 
New shoots every year 
On old growths appear. 

Thou shalt teach the ages, sturdy tree, 

Youth of soul is immortality. 



140 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

He who plants a tree, 
He plants love ; 
Tents of coolness spreading out above 
Wayfarers lie may not live to see. 

Gifts that grow are best ; 

Hands that bless are blest ; 

Plant : life does the rest ! 
Heaven and earth help him who plants a tree, 
And his work its own reward shall be. 

— Lucy Laecom. 

Indoor Exercises. — In cities, where the school grounds are 
apt to be limited in extent and carefully kept, the observance 
of Arbor Day may take the permanent form of indoor exer- 
cises, supplemented, perhaps, in the case of certain grades, 
by a visit to a neighboring park, botanical garden, or grove, 
for the purpose of viewing or collecting specimens of plant 
life. 

In the schoolroom observance of the day by a high school, 
the exercises should partake of a scientific character. Essays 
on various interesting topics of botanical study, descriptions 
of vegetable growths, — especially those related to the indus- 
trial world, — sketches of the history of the science, bio- 
graphical sketches of eminent botanists, etc., are appropriate 
to such occasions. 

Where an excursion to the woods or fields is arranged, 
care should be taken to improve the opportunity thus offered 
for a profitable study of growing plants. Good specimens 
procured on such occasions should be preserved ; and it is 
just as easy to do this properly and systematically as to do 
it otherwise. 

Plant Collections. — The following suggestions relative to 
plant collections will be of value to the practical teacher, 
whether he be engaged in high school work or in that of the 
country district school : 

1. Every schoolhouse should be supplied with some sort 
of a cabinet for the preservation and display of plant col- 
lections of scientific interest. Eepresentative high schools 



ABB OB DAY CELEBBATI0N8 141 

are now requiring each pupil in their classes in botany to 
make analyses of fifty plants, as a part of the regular work 
in this study. In this age, pupils are taught to study the 
plants themselves, and not merely what the books say about 
them. 

The teacher of botany should be supplied at all times with 
specimens for the illustration of the study. When the grow- 
ing flowers cannot be procured, pressed or dried specimens 
should be at 'hand. Class after class should leave in the 
school cabinet the best of their scientifically prepared speci- 
mens, as their contribution to the collection. The plainest 
country schoolhouse may thus contain rich treasures gathered 
from the forest and prairie. 

2. Specimens of plants for analysis and for preservation 
in the herbarium should be secured generally entire, with 
their roots, though no specimen for permanent preservation 
should exceed 16 inches in length. Where it is necessary 
to divide the plant, both the upper (branch leaf) and lower 
(seed leaf) portions should be preserved. Specimens should 
be secured with flowers, leaves, and fruit. 

3. In gathering specimens, pupils should be provided with 
strong knives or knife trowels, for cutting aud digging, and 
with a covered tin trunk, or box, about 16 inches in length, 
and of a form to be conveniently carried. Specimens kept 
moist by sprinkling will remain fresh for a number of days 
in such a box. 

4. In gathering ferns or brakes, two fronds of each should 
be taken, m order that both sides may be shown ; or a large 
fern may be doubled back upon itself. Mosses should be 
first dried, and then moistened, preparatory to pressing. 
Plants that are apt to come to pieces in the press should be 
previously steeped in boiling water. In drying specimens 
for herbariums, care should be observed in preserving the 
natural color and form of the plant. In order to effect this, 
it is essential that the moisture be absorbed before there is 
any decomposition. 



142 SCHOOL INTERESTS ANB DUTIES 

5. The simplest flower press consists of two flat boards, 
12 X 22 inches in size, bolted together by an ordinary bolt 
at the roiddle of each end. Unless the nnts be furnished 
with handles, a small wrench will be needed to turn them. 
Cleats across the ends of the boards will prevent warping. 

Drying mats of convenient size, consisting of several thick- 
nesses of newsx^apers stitched together, should be supplied, 
and there should be also a few sheets of this blotting paper. 
Drying papers will require to be changed daily. Thick 
stems of plants may be split lengthwise, in order to hasten 
the drying. 

6. When pressed, specimens should lie in a natural posi- 
tion ; crooked stems should not be straightened, nor straight 
stems curved. The pressure should be applied gradually, 
and continued for several days. 

7. The pressed specimens should be gummed to sheets of 
thick white paper or light cardboard, 16J x 10-J- inches in 
size. Sometimes the plant may be held in place by strips 
of gummed paper, but it is apt to be better preserved when 
fastened securely to the sheet. 

The sheets may be kept in a portfolio, consisting of paste- 
board covers fastened by tapes or straps passing through 
slits in each cover, forming a hinge behind, and tied or 
buckled in front. 

The sheets should be arranged with their backs to the left, 
and should bear a label on the lower left corner. The label 
should be neatly written, and should give the name of the 
plant (the scientific name, generic and specific, if the col- 
lector is sure of the species ; also the common name), to- 
gether with that of the collector and the time and place at 
which it was gathered. 

In place of loose sheets, a scrapbook may be used, if pre- 
ferred, and may be labeled in the same manner. 

8. Lichens, cones, seeds, etc., cannot be pressed flat. For 
these, suitable cases may be made by gluing old slate frames 
firmly to pieces of cardboard trimmed to the proper size. 



ARBOR DAY CELEBRATION'S 143 

The wood of the frames may be covered with white 
paper. 

9. Plant photography is not only valuable in its results, 
but is an interesting process in itself. It will be necessary 
to procure a solution of ammonia (muriate of ammonia 60 
grains, water 6 ounces), a silver solution (nitrate of silver 
120 grains, distilled water and alcohol each li ounces), and 
a baryta solution (hydriodate of baryta 8 grains, sulphate of 
iron 10 grains, water 2 ounces). The silver solution must 
be filtered from the sediment, which will form in a few hours, 
and must be kept in a black glass bottle. A few drops of 
diluted sulphuric acid should be added to the baryta solution, 
which should be poured off, after settling. 

Strips of highly glazed paper should be cut into suitable 
sizes and bathed in the ammonia solution, then hung from 
one corner by a pin hook on a line to dry. When ready to 
use, the prepared paper should be quickly brushed over with 
the silver solution, and placed upon a smooth block of wood 
of like size, covered with a paper pad. The specimen leaf 
should be turned face downward upon the wet paper, and 
covered with a pane of clear glass, the size of the sheet. 
The apparatus should be held together by means of clamps 
or of heavy rubber straps, and exposed to the* light for a day 
or two. The picture, on being removed, should be washed, 
and dried between two folds of cloth, then the baryta should 
be poured over it and turned back into the bottle. 

10. Specimens of leaves may be slightly oiled, and pressed 
upon sheets of paper, leaving upon the latter an oily imprint. 
Powdered crayons of any color, mixed with a little resin, may 
be sifted upon this imprint ; and if the sheet now be pressed 
with a moderately hot flatiron, the color will adhere perma- 
nently to the oiled surface, bringing out the figure of the 
specimen. Thin mucilage or paste may be substituted for 
the oil, and " Diamond Dyes '^ for the chalk. 

11. The veins of leaves may be shown beautifully and 
perfectly by the following process: The leaves should be 



144 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

soaked for many days in soft water, after wMch the green 
pulp may be rubbed off, carefully, with, a soft cloth.. The 
remaining skeleton of the leaf should be immersed for twelve 
hours in a solution consisting of one ounce of chloride of lime 
and one quart of water. The various forms of venation 
should be illustrated in this way. 

12. Cross sections of trees form a very interesting part of 
a collection of woods. The sides should be exactly parallel, 
so that when piled, with those of the largest diameter at the 
bottom, the disks will form a cone. They may be joined 
together by means of screw eyes in the opposite sides, or 
extended into a chain. There should be two screw eyes on 
each side, which should be loosely linked or tied in such a 
manner that the disks may be either piled or extended at 
will. 

Small longitudinal slabs of wood, having the general 
shape of a book, with the natural bark for the back, may be 
placed together in a case, as different volumes of a work are 
placed in the same box. A shallow box will answer for the 
case. Strips of wood of triangular section may be formed 
into a rope ladder, by means of chains of strings passing 
along the ends. The natural bark should be left to form 
one of the sides of the triangle. In these collections, ex- 
posed portions of the wood may be coated with white var- 
nish. Labels should be placed upon the disks, below the 
centers; upon the book-form slabs, in the manner of the 
title of the book; upon the rungs of the rope ladders, on 
the upper triangular surface. 

13. Microscopic slides without objects are called slips. 
They should consist of a piece of clear glass, 3x1 inches in 
size, with a small square or circular cover of very thin glass. 
They may be procured of dealers or prepared by the teacher 
with little trouble. A ring of cement (shellac dissolved in 
alcohol) about the center, to hold up and attach the cover, 
will inclose a space in which the object may be placed, and, 
if dry, fixed by touching with the white of an egg. The 



ABB OB DAY CELEBBATIONS 145 

slide may be covered with colored paper, leaving circular 
holes above and below the cell, and should be carefully 
labeled across one end. 

14. A plain folio drawing book should be kept by mem- 
bers of classes in botany, in which to record microscopic 
investigations. Artistic and carefully developed drawings 
are not required. Simple outline drawings with a sketch 
pencil will answer every purpose. A brief description 
should accompany each sketch. 

15. Plants are often interesting subjects for microscopic 
investigation. Every teacher should possess at least a 
pocket lens for constant use. Where a compound micro- 
scope of high power is available, a much wider field is pre- 
sented for study and investigation. 

Among the more interesting objects for observation are 
simple cellular tissue, fibro-vascular bundles, sporangia, an- 
theridia and archegonia, stamens and pistils, pollen from 
the anthers, ovaries, seeds, plant hairs, protoplasm, cell 
formation, and the various forms of woody structure, micro- 
scopic plants, plant crystals. 

16. The teacher is not by any means expected to limit 
his collection to the articles above described,, though for the 
sake of a general system it may be well to follow the direc- 
tions here given. Many other suitable means of preserving 
and displaying specimens and illustrating facts brought out 
in the study of plants will occur to the ingenious teacher. 

"Plants may teach us lessons in sacred things," says 
Alphonso Wood. " While we study the facts and the forms 
of the vegetable world, we should also aim to learn the pur- 
poses accomplished, and the great jorinciples adopted in its 
creation. We should also learn to recognize here the tokens 
(too long overlooked) which declare that nature sympathizes 
with humanity in the circumstances of the Fall, the Kedemp- 
tion, and the Life. Such study alone is adapted to acquaint 
us with the thoughts of the intelligent Creator, and to disci- 
pline aright the mind which was created in His image. 

SCH. INT. & DUT. 10 



146 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

"Botany combines pleasure with improvement. It con- 
ducts the student into the fields and forests, amidst the 
verdure of spring and the bloom of summer ; to the charm- 
ing retreats of ISTature in her wild luxuriance, or where she 
patiently smiles under the improving hand of cultivation. 
It furnishes him with vigorous exercise, both of body and 
mind, which is no less salutary than agreeable, and its sub- 
jects of investigation are all such as are adapted to please 
the eye, refine the taste, and improve the heart." 

Benefit of Arbor Day Celebrations. — It is an error to sup- 
pose that Arbor Day observances are profitable and appro- 
priate only to certain classes of schools. There is no school 
in city or town or country that may not be benefited by 
a hearty celebration of the day in some form. It subserves 
a variety of interests — material, social, educational, moral, 
and scientific. 

To the country and town schools. Arbor Day brings the 
improvement of school surroundings, and the pleasant social 
gathering of the neighborhood; to city schools, the enjoy- 
ment of floral decorations, a break in the monotony of 
school routine by exercises of a highly interesting and ele- 
vating character, and, perhaps, also, a delightful visit to 
parks or groves ; to the high school grades, a scientific 
entertainment, whether within doors or without, of great 
value as an auxiliary to their science study. Let the day 
be observed in some appropriate form in every school ; let 
it be productive of moral and material good in every grade ; 
and the memory of Arbor Day will last through after years, 
lingering as a beautiful picture of school life, and exerting 
its influence upon the character of the people. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE DICTIONARY, AND HOW TO USE IT 

Ethics of Words. — The correct use of English words is 
a matter of greater importance than might appear upon a 
superficial consideration of the subject. We are not apt to 
think of it from the standpoint of morals, yet to the con- 
scientious person it has a moral side. 

What true man or woman is there, who, having received 
a valuable heritage in trust, to be transmitted to successors, 
does not feel a personal responsibility for the faithful guar- 
dianship of such trust ? If the property be in the form of 
money, all the world will quickly hold to account the unjust 
or careless steward who allows it to be wasted and causes a 
deficit to appear in his final reckoning. 

Again, what worthy citizen enjoying the use of any great 
public work, be it monument or edifice, will contribute to 
its defacement or injury by any act of vandalism ? But is 
there a heritage of money or a public monument of brick or 
stone that can compare in value with the language of the 
Anglo-Saxon world ? 

When the preservation of the English language in all its 
purity and strength is considered from the standpoint of 
moral obligation, the case is much stronger than if any other 
language of the world were under consideration. For, in 
the first place, the English is apparently destined to become 
the universal language of the earth. In the second place, 
this language is by far the most copious and delicate that 
has ever been spoken on the globe. 

147 



148 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

Finally, tlie English, literature is the most valuable in all 
the world of letters, and, by means of masterly translations, 
is destined to include all the great works in the literature 
of the entire world. The history of the present century has 
fixed the fate of our language. In the opening years the 
Spanish, French, and German languages were spoken each 
by a greater number of people than spoke English. At the 
century's closing, the almost incredible advance of the Eng- 
lish language and literature has left all competitors very far 
behind, while the rate of increase is at this moment greater 
than before. 

The English is a double language,^ and this fact accounts 
for its vast number of words. In the conquests of nations 
which history relates, the language of the conquerors gener- 
ally replaces that of the conquered. The ISTorman conquest 
of England, in 1066, is an exception to this rule. The Nor- 
man nobles, in England, continued to speak the ISTorman 
French, while the English, inhabitants retained their own 
speech, until, after the lapse of centuries, each of the na- 
tionalities had acquired the language of the other. Inher- 
iting, as we do, two or more words where other nations 
generally possess but one, we are enabled to express the 
finest shades of meaning ; for our so-called synonyms have 
acquired, usually, a slight differentiation of signification 
and use. We are thus able to distinguish, between free- 
dom and liberty, begin and commence, supply and furnish, 
respond and reply, etc. 

The misuse of words tends to change their meaning, and 
to lessen their value. By preserving the true meanings of 
words we shall be able to transmit to posterity and to the 
world of the future the greatest and best medium of com- 



1 The English language — like all other modern languages — contains 
words derived from many different sources. Nineteen twentieths of our 
words, however, are found to be derived from the two elements as stated 
— the Anglo-Saxon and the Norman French. The dividing line between 
these lies near the middle. Of the words used by Shakspeare, 60 per cent 



THE DICTIONARY, AND HOW TO USE IT 149 

munication between man and man — a language fitted by 
its fullness, its strength, and its flexibility to become the 
speech of all nations in the future. 

The mass of the people do not acquire their language 
from dictionaries, but inductively, from what they hear and 
read. How important is it, then, that teachers, writers, and 
educated people generally (who are accepted by the many 
as models in this respect) shall inculcate a correct and dis- 
criminating use of words and a high standard of pronuncia- 
tion! A teacher who mispronounces Avords or who uses 
them in a sense foreign to their true meaning sows in fertile 
soil the seeds of error, which will be harvested and resown 
until his influence for evil is multiplied. Let us strive, 
rather, to leave an iiifluence for good upon the language of 
the later world. 

Let us seek to transmit to posterity, unimpaired, and 
increased in its richness and fullness, the priceless legacy 
of the English Language. 

Use of the Dictionary in the Schoolroom. — The dictionary 
should be always accessible to teachers and pupils. If your 
schoolroom is not already supplied with a standard work of 
this description, seek to remedy the defect at the earliest 
moment. You cannot successfully teach loithout a cUctionary 
at your command. 

It should be borne in mind that an unused dictionary is of 
no value. It is like the costly apparatus which, in too many 
schools of the past, has been locked in an unused room, to 
be shown to occasional visitors. The dictionary should be 
accessible and in constant use. 

Some teachers hedge this use with annoying regulations 
which tend to lessen its value. This, of course, should be 



are of Saxon origin. The same is true of the words in our common Eng- 
lish Bible. Most authors of the present day use a considerably larger per- 
centage of words derived from the Norman French than did the writers of 
an earlier period. In its grammatical structure, the English language is 
Anglo-Saxon, 



150 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

avoided. The dictionary slionld be placed in tlie most con- 
veniently accessible position in the schoolroom, and its use 
should be encouraged by the granting of every proper facil- 
ity for consulting it. A good dictionary holder is perhaps 
better than a table for holding the book ; and since the true 
teacher is wise and careful in little matters, he will use dis- 
crimination in his selection of the stand, or holder, and in 
its location in the room. 

Where a dictionary is published in several volumes (as, 
for example, The Century Dictionary, which can be procured 
in six separate parts), it is well to have a small cabinet of 
shelves prepared to hold them. When the work is procured 
in parts, several pupils can consult it at one and the same 
time. The divisions of the cabinet should be horizontal 
shelves, so that they may be lettered, to correspond to the 
respective volumes which rest upon them. 

It is a fact that very many pupils, and perhaps a large 
number of teachers, as well, have no adequate idea of the 
proper use of the dictionary. They consult it in order to 
learn the proper spelling and pronunciation of words, and 
to find a meaning which will serve for their immediate use ; 
and with many, these are the only uses that are made of the 
volume. The origin of words, and their history, the syllab- 
ication, etc., are passed by, as of no consequence — though 
these are often of much importance. 

Webster as a Standard. — Webster's dictionary is now so 
generally accepted as a standard, and has exerted so vast an 
influence upon our language, that every teacher should be 
familiar with and interested in the reforms which the author 
sought to effect. 

All rules of language have their exceptions, and the 
English orthography is highly inconsistent with itself, at 
best. Webster sought to bring to bear certain rules which 
would simplify the English spelling. He did not seek to 
eliminate all the silent letters, so as to make the orthog- 
raphy strictly x^honetic; for that, even if desirable as an 



THE DICTIONABY, AND HOW TO USE IT 151 

end/ would have involved so radical a dex^arture as to insure 
failure at the outset; and a people which for fifty years 
held out against the use of the decimal point in arithmetic 
was not likely to accept of many sweeping innovations at 
once. But Webster succeeded in eliminating from our orthog- 
raphy much useless lumber ; and interesting estimates have 
been made upon the vast labor-saving which he secured to 
the people of America, at least, by his reforms. One of the 
most noticeable services of the great American lexicographer 
in this direction was the elimination of the useless letter u 
from many words in which it had no logical place. Already 
it had been generally dropped from cold, bold (anciently 
could, boulcT), etc. Why should it linger in mold (mould) ? 
The final e had been long dropped from tax, wax, etc. Why 
should it remain in ax (axe) ? 

One of the most interesting of Webster's rules relates to 
the doubling of final consonants when terminations are added 
to a word. With this rule every teacher should be familiar, 
so that he will never be in doubt as to whether he should 
write traveler or traveller, tvoolen or ivoolleii, jeweler oy jeweller. 

It does not meet the case to say that authorities differ as 
to the spelling of these words. The true teacher should be 
familiar with the rule upon which Webster acted in his 
treatment of them ; and if that rule commends itself to his 
judgment (as generally it will), he should follow it and 
inculcate it in his pupils. 

The order of the various meanings of a word, as given in 
Webster's Dictionaries, is not always understood by teachers 
and pupils. 

In Latin and Greek lexicons, the most generally applied 
meaning is given first. The German lexicographers, who 



1 It is by no meaDS desirable that all the silent letters be eliminated from 
our language. Originally, these Avere generally vocalized, and have become 
silent through the change of usage in the course of centuries. As late as 
Shakspeare's time there were many who, in their pronunciation, sounded 
the & in debt, the I in calf, etc. The gh in right, thought, etc., originally 



152 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

witli patience and industry almost unparalleled liave com- 
piled tlie lexicons of the ancient languages, have acted upon 
this plan. They have taken one Latin or Greek word at a 
time, and noted every instance of its use in classical litera- 
ture, the context indicating in each case its particular mean- 
ing in a sentence. The meaning in which it is used the 
greatest number of times has been set down as its first, or 
primary meaning. The other meanings follow in strictly 
numerical order. 

The order followed by Webster and other lexicographers 
of the English language is wholly different from this ; and 
with the facts in each case every teacher should be familiar. 
Webster's order of meanings is liistorical. The first meaning 
which he assigns to a word is the meaning which it origi- 
nally possessed, even though that be now obsolete or obso- 
lescent. Formerly, the word prevent meant, simply, to go 
before, or to precede; and it was natural for one to say, "I 
will rise early to-morrow, to prevent the rising of sun." 
Probably the original meaning of sincere was without wax. 
The word was perhaps used at first to describe honey that 
was pure and unadulterated. The original meaning of tran- 
spire was to sweat. The original meaning of starve was, 
simply, to die, or perish (from whatever cause). There are 
not a few teachers who look to the first-given meaning of a 
word for the most general meaning in the usage of the 
present day. 

Syllabication. — Syllabication is another matter in which 
Webster followed an independent course. The sub j ect should 
be understood by all writers, for, by our universal rule, words 
divided at the end of a line must be so divided that their 
syllables shall remain entire. 

represented a gutteral sound which was characteristic of the Germanic 
races, but which has been eliminated from our speech. The silent letters 
contained in a word generally indicate its origin, and are often of great 
value to philologists. There is no question, however, that we might judi- 
ciously dispense with more of these than were dropped in the reforms of 
Noah Webster. 



THE DICTIONARY, AND HOW TO USE IT 153 

In respect to syllabication, Webster differs from British 
ortliographers. He forms a syllable of the sounds which are 
nttered with one impulse of the voice. Onr British cousins 
are apt to have more regard for the etymology of the word 
in their syllabication. Thus they vfrite ov-ate where we 
write o-vate. The word comes from the Latin root ov, an egg ; 
and the British syllabication takes this fact into account ; 
whereas our own (according to Webster) has regard only for 
the impulse of the voice in pronouncing it. At the same 
time, it must be said that Webster does not ^(;7io% disregard 
etymologies in his system of syllabication. 

" Since the intent and purpose of written words is to repre- 
sent speech," says the International Dictionary, "there is 
really no good reason for allowing etymology to control syl- 
labic division, in ordinary writing and print, in any other 
way than indirectly through its influence on the customary 
pronunciation." 

Origm and History of Words. — The etymologies of words 
are subjects of great interest, and without them the value 
and force of many expressions are not fully appreciated. 
Many of our most expressive words come to us from the 
folk stories of past generations. One who is familiar with 
the story of the boastful and bellicose Hector will appreciate 
the meaning of the word hectoring. The student who has 
read the Iliad, and remembers the trumpet-voiced herald 
named Stentor, will readily catch the meaning of the word 
stentorian. One who has read of Procrustes (who laid his 
victims on his fatal bed, and either cut off their limbs or 
stretched them by horrible tension, so as to make all fit to 
his measure) will note at a glance the meaning of the word 
Procrustean. 

In like manner we derive the words shibboleth, palladium, 
mausoleum, iridescent, etc., from the folklore of the ancients. 
The folklore of the modern world is not less prolific of 
expressive words. In our political vocabulary we find such 
terms as gerrymander, logrolling, pipelaying, lobbying, bun- 



154 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

combe, not to speak of sucli partisan epithets as carpet- 
bagger and coj^perliead. The force and application of these 
terms can be learned only by an acquaintance with their 
origin. Never before has folklore been so highly esteemed 
by scholars as at the present time. 

The etymologies of the most ordinary words are exceed- 
ingly interesting; and when any word is studied in the 
dictionary, its origin and history should receive careful con- 
sideration. Our words that are derived from the Norman 
French can be traced, generally, through their parent words 
to the more ancient Latin, from which the Norman French, 
in its turn, was principally derived. Take the common 
expression, " Yes, Ma^am.'^ The ma'am is a shorter form 
of the English madam. The latter is derived from the Old 
French madame, which, in its turn, leads back to the Latin 
mea domina {my lady). 

On the other hand, our words which come to us through 
the Anglo-Saxon (or Old English, as it is now largely called) 
may be traced usually to the more ancient Oermanic root 
words. The word starve comes to us from the Anglo-Saxon 
steorban, which is allied to the German sterben (to die). It 
will be seen that the Anglo-Saxon words are much stronger 
in their meaning than their synonyms which are derived 
from the Norman French ; thus love is stronger than affec- 
tion, fear is stronger than apprehension, anger is stronger 
than resentment, etc. 

It is a noteworthy fact that the common terminations 
derived from the Saxon words (such as ness in goodness, 
kindness, etc., and ly in goodly, kindly, etc.) are used almost 
exclusively with words derived from the same source. In 
like manner, the common endings which we derive from the 
Norman French (such as ty in urbanity, rajndity, etc., and 
tion in creation, j)reparation, etc.) are used almost exclusively 
mtli words from the same source. 

A hybrid word made up of an Anglo-Saxon word and a 
Norman French ending was for centuries a thing unknown. 



THE DICTION ABY, AND HOW TO USE IT 155 

A few of these have crept into our language within the past 
century. At the time of the Eevolutionary War, an English 
statesman named Henry Dundas, afterwards Lord Melville, 
made a speech in Parliament on American affairs, in which 
he was so carried away by his excitement that he used the 
then absurd expression starvatioyi. Nothing could have 
exceeded the ludicrousness of the expression. It was as 
though he had cautioned his hearers against the jight-ation 
of the Americans, or had provided for the eat-ation of the 
British army. In the laugh that went round the world, the 
word starvation was applied as a nickname to the luckless 
speaker, who has gone down in history, not as Lord Melville, 
but as " Starvation " Dundas. Because of its frequent use 
in succeeding years, the word has ceased to seem incongruous 
or absurd ; yet it serves as a caution to careless speakers not 
to coin new words unthinkingly by the joining of incompat- 
ible elements of language. 

Scripture Proper Names. — The dictionary contains the 
proper names of Scripture, with the pronunciation of each. 
Assuredly, every teacher should be able to read the Bible 
correctly. The Scripture names are to be pronounced with- 
out any foreign affectation, in the broad, clear English, as 
indicated. One may find fault with the fact that Jairus is 
pronounced in one ^vay as it occurs in the Old Testament 
and in another way as it appears in the New Testament, and 
he may object to the pronunciation of Alexandria and Pliila- 
delpMa'^ Avith the accent on the penult, as contrary to modern 
usage 5 yet it is best to follow the authorities t\\ these as in 
other matters. 

Foreign Phrases. — The dictionaries (Webster's Interna- 
tional, and also the Unabridged which bears his name) con- 
tain a long list of foreign phrases which are largely used by 



1 In reading the Bible it is not improper to give these geographical names 
their ordinary English pronunciation. The classical pronunciation, how- 
ever, is preferred by many for Scripture readings, and there are strong 
arguments in its favor. 



156 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

English authors. It is often objected that the use of such 
phrases smacks of pedantry, and should be discouraged. 
Nevertheless, these phrases are used to a large extent. 
Many of them express ideas relating to law and to other 
professions. Many are exceedingly felicitous as adages. It 
would be an exhibition of great temerity to condemn their 
use simi^ly because they are foreign in language — for in 
many cases they belong to the great world, irrespective of 
nationality. Where they are used at all, they should be used 
correctly. 

Probably it is a good rule to make use of foreign expres- 
sions only in the cases in which there are no English terms 
that will answer the purpose as well. However, the writers 
of books that we read do not always follow this rule ; and if 
we are to make any use of the foreign words and phrases 
which writers employ, it is absurd to attempt to apply 
English analogies of sound to their pronunciation. The 
teacher and the pupil should consult the dictionary list for 
the meaning of such foreign phrases and proverbs as come 
under their observation, for many of these are certain to 
belong to the universal language of the future. 

Fictitious Persons and Places, — A very great change has 
come over the world of learned men in respect of folklore. 
What was at one time brushed away with impatience as 
childish fable is now tenderly cherished as a memorial of 
humanity's childhood. The stories of Cinderella, Jack the 
Giant Killer, etc., are now accepted as a valuable legacy. 
These stories are utilized by modern educators in the school- 
room, and the value of folk tales is appreciated by the most 
learned. 

The Dictionary of Fiction is a very important part of 
Webster's dictionaries. To it reference should be made for 
the elucidation of every allusion to characters of fiction and 
folklore that may be encountered in the reading of the school. 
The characters of Dickens, by themselves, are sufficient in 
number to populate a respectable town ; and as Dickens wrote 



THE DICTIONARY, AND HOW TO USE IT 157 

with a great moral purpose in view, liis cliaracters are full 
of inspiration and of caution to all readers. 

Biographical Names. — In tliese days of nniversal dissemi- 
nation of views and of current history, biographical names 
play an important part. The teacher who pronounces these 
phonetically or without heed to any system does himself and 
his pupils great injustice. Often the names of eminent men 
and women in foreign lands bear little resemblance, in their 
pronunciation, to our phonetic equivalents of the letters 
which compose them. 

It is idle to assume that the pupil's knowledge of great 
men should be restricted to those of our own country ; and 
even if it were so restricted, our analogies and rules of pro- 
nunciation are apt to fail when it comes to proper names. 

The conscientious teacher will seek to inculcate a correct 
and standard pronunciation of such names. He will not 
attempt to speak of Goethe, Thiers, Beethoven, Fenelon, 
Disraeli, Anne Boleyn, Brougham, Agassiz, Bulwer, etc., 
without referring to such aid as the dictionary offers for 
the correct sounds of the letters, where he is in doubt as to 
them. 

Gazetteer. — The same general statement may be made as 
to geographical terms. In an earlier day, ° teachers were 
apt to pronounce these according to English analogy in 
every case. Not one in ten, perhaps, correctly pronounced 
such names as Labrador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Antilles, Ap- 
palachian, Danish America, Balearic, Loffoden, Edinburgh, 
Haioarden, Valparaiso, etc. An improvement in this respect 
is very generally manifest at this time, yet there is room for 
much more. A useful feature of the dictionary is its 
treatment of geographical names ; and to the standard pro- 
nunciation of these every teacher should conform. 

Abbreviations and Contractions. — A valuable feature of the 
dictionary is its list of abbreviations. There are many 
teachers who have not yet learned to distinguish between an 
abbreviation and a contraction. Chas. is an abbreviation, 



158 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

and is to be pronounced as though, the word were written 
out in full. The fact that it is an abbreviation is indicated 
by the period. CanH is a contraction, and this fact is indi- 
cated by the use of the apostrophe; not only are certain 
letters omitted, but their sounds are wanting as well. JV^os. 
(and not J^^o's) is the abbreviation for numbers. Bros, (and 
not Bra's) is the abbreviation for the word brothers. Sam^l 
is a contraction indicating a slipshod colloquial pronuncia- 
tion of the name. Fred, is an abbreviation for Frederick, 
and is to be pronounced as though the word were written in 
full ; while Fred is simply a short form of the name, and is 
to be pronounced as written. 

Classed with the abbreviations are certain substitutions 
which are often puzzling to teachers. In ancient inscrip- 
tions we frequently find ye for the, and the unwary pro- 
nounce the word as though it were the pronoun ye. As a 
matter of fact, the y is simply substituted for the form of the 
ancient Anglo-Saxon th, which bore a resemblance to this let- 
ter, and which long lingered in English literature. In the ab- 
breviations for ounce and videlicet (respectively, oz. and viz.), 
the teacher is often at a loss to account for the use of the 
letter z, since it does not appear in either word. The fact 
is this : The letter is here substituted for an ancient sign of 
abbreviation, which bore some resemblance to it. This sign 
was formerly jolaced after the o and the vi in the words 
mentioned above. Subsequently, the period was used in 
the abbreviations, and generally replaced the old mark. As 
a result of carelessness on the part of former teachers and 
printers, we have illogically retained in these words both 
signs of abbreviation. 

Pronunciation. — Every teacher is presumably acquainted 
with the nature and use of diacritical marks to indicate the 
correct pronunciation of words; yet there are very many 
teachers who have not made a sufficiently thorough investi- 
gation of the subject of pronunciation. It must be remem- 
bered that the same letter does not always have exactly the 



THE DICTION AHY, AND HOW TO USE IT 159 

same sound in different words, even though it have the same 
diacritical mark. 

To illustrate : the o in the word Jiot has not exactly the 
sound of the same letter in the word dog, though the vowel 
is marked alike in both cases. The vowel in the word the 
is pronounced in three different ways, according to the way 
it is used — by itself, before another word commencing 
with a vowel, or before another word commencing with a 
consonant. 

In larger dictionaries, the subject of pronunciation is 
fully discussed, each letter being considered separately. 
With the lexicographer's exposition of the subject the 
teacher should be thoroughly familiar, for pronunciation is 
a matter which he cannot avoid or postpone. It is a subject 
which enters into every utterance of his own and into every 
word spoken by his pupils. He who carefully canvasses the 
entire subject of pronunciation, preparatory to teaching, will 
be relieved of innumerable difficulties which will otherwise 
confront him. 

History of the English Language. — The larger dictionaries 
contain, generally, a history of the development of the Eng- 
lish language from the Anglo-Saxon, describing its acces- 
sions from the Celtic speech and those resulting from the 
Danish and Norman invasions of England, and exhibiting 
specimens of English compositions of various periods, to 
mark the transitions to the English of our own day. The 
history of the growth of the language is valuable to every 
teacher and every high school pupil, yet there are very 
many such who have not availed themselves of it. 

The illustrations of the larger dictionaries may be made 
very useful in teaching the sciences, especially botany and 
zoology, for they represent a great number of interesting 
species in the vegetable and the animal world. 

The Choice of a Dictionary. — Webster's International Dic- 
tionary i^ the latest edition of the work of America's great- 
est lexicographer. It contains the definitions of 140,000 



160 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

words. Whatever otlier dictionaries a school may possess, 
this should be procured and constantly used. 

Webster's Pictorial Dictionary contains a glossary of Scot- 
tish words. Since the reading of Scottish authors of prose 
and verse is becoming more general from year to year, this 
feature of the volume is more important than it was formerly. 

A cyclopedia is a larger and more generalized form of 
dictionary, and is exceedingly valuable as an appointment 
of the schoolroom. Formerly the cost of cyclopedias proved 
an insurmountable obstacle to their very general use in the 
smaller schools. The multiplication of cheaper books of this 
class has led to a vast extension of the use of such reference 
books, and |)robably the time is not far distant when the 
country schools will generally include a cyclopedia in their 
furnishings. 

Gazetteers, atlases, biographical dictionaries. The Dickens 
Dictionary, botanical floras, books of synonyms, etc., are valu- 
able adjuncts to the working materials of schools, and are 
especially valuable in high schools. 

Whatever dictionary, cyclopedia, or other books of refer- 
ence may be procured, care should be exercised to secure the 
latest editions. The language is growing rapidly, and new 
terms of special interest to the educated are constantly ap- 
pearing. Meanwhile, old words are changing their forms, 
to some extent. But a few years ago the words sclwolhouse, 
schoolbook, scJioolmaster, newspaper, and many others which 
are now consolidated were written with hyphens. Errors in 
the old editions are corrected in the new. 

The demand of the day in education is for men and Avomen 
who are representative of modern progress — who " keep uj) 
with the times." 

So vast is the influence of the dictionary upon the work 
of the school, and so great is its value as a force — at once 
conservative and progressive — in language and in literature, 
that the true teacher is not likely to overestimate the impor- 
tance of its constant and enliorhtened use. 



SCHOOL LIBRARIES 
SCHOOL MORALS 



SCH, INT. & DUT. 11 



CHAPTER VIII 

SCHOOL LIBRARIES 

The Influence of Unwholesome Literature. — Teacliers who 
were fond of reading Gail Hamilton's pungent books of an 
earlier decade will remember her stinging criticism of a 
class of literature prepared for young readers. The books 
which she held up to ridicule were written with the purest 
motives, and were purchased with money that was conse- 
crated to the loftiest purposes ; for her " skirmish " was 
directed against the pernicious elements in Sunday-school 
literature. Skirmishes and Sketches exerted so strong an 
influence upon the popular judgment of general literature, 
and is so apposite to the subject of school libraries, that a 
few quotations from it will serve as an introduction to this 
chapter : 

" I mean," says Gail Hamilton, " the avalanche of silly 
books which is continually sliding down upon the young 
mind, and which threatens to bury all vigor, all intelli- 
gence, all intellectual activity, under a mass of stilted, sen- 
timental nonsense. 

" We often hear and read ecclesiastical deprecation of novel 
reading, but do our Christian parents know that their chil- 
dren are surfeiting themselves at the Sunday-school libraries 
with weak and worthless novels ? If false views of life, if 
unnatural representations of character, if appeals to passion 
and vanity, if melodramatic scenes and sensational incidents 
make novels pernicious reading for the young, then are our 
Sunday-school libraries dealing out pernicious reading. How 

163 



164 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

long this evil lias been in existence I do not know, but it 
seems to be at full tide now. 

" I have looked over an old catalogue of a Sunday-school 
library, collected about sixteen years ago, and compared it 
with catalogues of several late collections. Judging merely 
from the titles, the books of the old library are of a far 
higher class than those of the new. . . . 

" In the modern catalogues, I look in vain for books of 
similar substance. The greater nnmber are pathetic stories 
of little girls who died and who ought never to have lived ; 
scaring stories of little boys who went to a circus, and 
thence by short and easy stages to the state prison; . . . 
thrilling stories of pious lads who rush through ridicule, 
persuasion, and sundry forms of opposition, converting all 
before them. 

" The story, as a form of entertainment or instruction, has 
its appointed place, and is open to no objection; but such 
stories as run riot through our Sunday-school literature are 
neither sweet to the taste nor to be desired to make one wise. 
They do not appeal to the imagination, nor to the conscious- 
ness, scarcely at all to the conscience, nor to any faculty of 
the soul, save a languid curiosity or a morbid craving for 
sentiment. Their work -is doubly harmful." 

Timely and deserved as this criticism was, there existed 
at the same time more urgent need for a reform in the liter- 
ature of the street, which exerted a baleful influence upon a 
vastly greater number of young people than were likely to 
be injured by morbid Sunday-school books. 

In the cities, especially, a flood of demoralizing prints 
was poured forth to corrupt the minds and hearts of boys. 
Probably in no other country of the world was this evil so 
great as in the United States, where the art of reading is 
universally acquired, and where no system of press censor- 
ship exists. 

Teachers of the public schools were not slow to observe 
the influence of unwholesome literature upon their pupils. 



SCHOOL LIB BABIES 165 

For a long period, however, the matter of the child's general 
reading was deemed a subject of parental care and responsi- 
bility exclusively, and teachers, as a rule, took no active 
interest in measures of reform in reference to it. 

The effects of such reading became so noticeable that the 
attention of the public was generally drawn to the danger 
of literature of this class. In various cities were unearthed 
dens of youthful depravity in vacated cellars and garrets — 
the rendezvous of young criminals who were often children 
of respectable families, and were led away by the glamour 
with which pernicious literature invested criminal lives. 
Railway conductors began to report numerous cases of 
young runaways who had started to the West to kill 
Indians. Crazed boys wandered about the streets, hatless 
and forlorn, and able only to say, in response to inquiries, 
" I am Willie, the Boy Detective," or " I am the Terror of 
the Plains." 

Prof. William G. Sumner, of Yale University, was led to 
make an investigation of the subject, and prepared a paper 
which stated forcibly the danger and prevalence of the 
pernicious stuff which passed for juvenile literature. The 
paper was published in Scribner^s Monthly, and attracted 
general attention. So able was this exposition of the evil, 
and so astonishing were its disclosures, that the reader of 
this volume will welcome the reproduction here of extended 
extracts from it. 

" Few gentlemen who have occasion to visit news offices," 
said Professor Sumner, " can have failed to notice the peri- 
odical literature for boys, which has been growing up during 
the last few years. The increase in the number of these 
papers and magazines, and the appearance, from time to 
time, of new ones, which, to judge by the pictures, are 
always worse than the old, seem to indicate that they find 
a wide market. Moreover, they appear not only among 
the idle and vicious boys in great cities, but also among 
schoolboys whose parents are careful about the influences 



166 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

brought to bear on their children. No student of social 
phenomena can pass with neglect facts of this kind — so 
practical and so important in their possible effects on 
society. 

" These periodicals contain stories, songs, mock speeches, 
and negro minstrel dialogues — and nothing else. The lit- 
erary material is either intensely stupid or spiced to the 
highest degree with sensation. The stories are about hunt- 
ing, Indian warfare, California desperado life, pirates, wild 
sea adventure, highwaymen, crimes and horrible accidents, 
horrors (tortures and snake stories), gamblers, practical jokes, 
the life of vagabond boys, and the wild behavior of dissipated 
boys in great cities. 

" This catalogue is exhaustive. There are no other stories. 
The dialogue is short, sharp, and continuous. It is broken 
by the minimum of description and by no preaching. It is 
almost entirely in slang of the most exaggerated kind, and 
of every variety — that of the sea, of California, and of 
the Bowery ; of negroes, ' Dutchmen,' Yankees, Chinese, and 
Indians, to say nothing of that of a source of the most 
irregular and questionable occupations ever followed by 
men. When the stories even nominally treat of school 
life, they say nothing of school life. There is simply a suc- 
cession of practical jokes, mischief, outrages, heroic but im- 
possible feats, fighting, and horrors, but nothing about the 
business of school, any more than if the house in which the 
boys live were a summer boarding house. 

" The sensational incidents in these stories are introduced 
by force, apparently for the mere purpose of producing a 
highly spiced mixture. 

"One type who figures largely in these stories is the 
vagabond boy in the streets of a great city, in the Kocky 
Mountains, or at sea. Sometimes he has some cleverness in 
singing or dancing or ventriloquism or negro acting, and he 
gains a precarious living while roving about. This vaga- 
bond life of adventure is represented as interesting and 



SCHOOL LIBB ARIES 16T 

enticing; and when the hero rises from the vagabond life 
to flash life, that is represented as success. 

" Eespectable home life, on the other hand, is not depicted 
at all, and is only referred to as stupid and below the ambi- 
tion of a clever youth. Industry and economy in some 
regular pursuit or in study are never mentioned at all. 
Generosity does not consist even in luxurious expenditure, 
but in wasting money. The type seems to be that of the 
gambler, one day ^ flush' and wasteful, another day ruined 
a,nd in misery. 

"These stories are not markedly profane, and they are 
not obscene. They are indescribably vulgar. They repre- 
sent boys as engaging all the time in the rowdy type of 
drinking. The heroes are either swaggering, vulgar swells 
of the rowdy style, or they are in the vagabond mass 
below the rowdy swell. They are continually associating 
with criminals, gamblers, and low people who live by their 
wits. 

" The theater of the stories is always disreputable. The 
proceedings and methods of persons of the criminal and 
disreputable classes who appear in the stories, are all de- 
scribed in detail. The boy reader obtains a theoretical and 
literary acquaintance with methods of fraud and crime. 
Sometimes drunkenness is represented in its disgrace and 
misery, but generally drinking is represented as jolly and 
entertaining, and there is no suggestion that boys who act 
as the boys in these stories do, ever have to pay any penalty 
for it in after life." 

The public protest against this species of literature grew 
rapidly in volume. An appeal for reform was issued, signed 
by such eminent men as Noah Porter, Theodore D. Woolsey, 
Francis A. Walker, Leonard Bacon, Francis Wayland, and 
others. 

The eminent and statesmanly Charles Francis Adams, Jr., 
in an address to the teachers of Quincy, Mass., called upon 
them and their fellow-workers to interest themselves in 



168 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

securing a remedy for tMs gTeat evil of tlie time. Said Mr. 
Adams : 

" It is the fault of a system which brings a community up 
in the idea that a poor knowledge of the rudiments of read- 
ing^ writing, and arithmetic constitutes in itself an educa- 
tion. Now, on the contrary, it seems to me that the true 
object of all your labors as real teachers, if, indeed, you are 
such, — the great end of the common school system, — is 
something more than to teach children to read ; it should, 
if it is to accomx)lish its full mission, also impart to them a 
love of reading. 

" A man or woman whom a whole childhood spent in the 
common schools has made able to stumble through a news- 
paper or to labor through a few trashy books is scarcely 
better off than one who cannot read at all. Indeed, I douht 
if he or she is as tvell off; for it has long been observed that 
a very small degree of book knowledge almost universally 
takes a depraved shape. . . . 

"As far as I can judge, we teach our children the mechan- 
ical part of reading, and then turn them loose to take their 
chances. If the child has naturally an inquiring or imaginar 
tive mind, he perchance may work his way unaided through 
the traps and pitfalls of literature ; but the chances seem to 
me to be terribly against him. Yet, here on the threshold 
of this vast field — you might even call it this wilderness — 
of general literature, full as it is of holes and bogs and pit- 
falls all covered over with poisonous plants, here it is that 
our common school system brings our children, and, having 
brought them here, it leaves them to go on or not, just as 
they please; or, if they do go on, they are to find their 
own way or to lose it, as it may chance. I think this is all 
wrong. Our educational system stops just where its assist- 
ance might be made invaluable; just where it passes out of 
the mechanical, and touches the individual; just where 
instruction ceases to be a drudgery, and becomes a source of 
pleasure." 



SCHOOL LIBB ABIES 169 

The Influence of Good Literature. — Prof. Eobert C. Met- 
calf, of Boston, proposed to the teachers of that city a prac- 
tical plan for the direction of the pupils in their reading. 
He said: 

" How, then, shall we so connect the public school with 
the public press and the public library that the pupil can, 
to the best advantage, secure the benefits of each ? 

"Our scholars will read; there is no doubt at all about 
that. It only remains for us to direct their reading so as to 
reach and secure what is good and avoid all that is bad. 
The teachers should require all pupils above the age of ten 
years to own a notebook in which shall be recorded, from 
time to time, the names of all books that might be read with 
profit in connection with the subjects taught in the school- 
room. A lesson in geography might suggest The Siuiss 
Family Robinson or Robinson Crusoe; a lesson in history. 
The Days of Bruce or some of Scott's novels ; a lesson in 
reading would perhaps suggest Stellar Worlds or some inter- 
esting biography. 

" Thus in a few years the child has had his attention called 
to many good books of real value, because they throw a flood 
of light upon, and add a deal of interest to, subjects of actual 
study in his school. But more than this should be done, 
especially in the higher classes. The teacher should require 
every pupil to make a weekly report of his reading, to be 
recorded in a book kept for this special purpose, in which 
the pupils' names should be arranged alphabetically, with 
the necessary space for each child. 

" Such an inspection and record of the reading of a class 
will work a wonderful change in its character, even in the 
space of one short year ; and if systematically followed up 
for a term of years, by a capable teacher, I believe it would 
render much more satisfactory the later work, when the 
children become men and women." 

Dr. James H. Smart, the eminent Indiana educator, pub- 
lished in 1880 a pamphlet on Books and Reading for the 



170 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

Young, in wliich he made use of miicli that has been quoted 
in the preceding pages of this chapter. The pamphlet was 
a reprint from the author's official report, as State Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction; for to an improvement in 
the choice of reading for the school children of Indiana he 
had devoted his superior abilities as an investigator and 
organizer. 

If one would seek to learn the result of such efforts in 
that State, let him know that there are now enrolled in 
Indiana about one hundred and seventy-five thousand mem- 
bers of the Pupils' K-eading Circle, and that pure and 
wholesome literature is supplied in abundance through the 
multitude of libraries to which pupils have free access. 

Need for School Libraries. — As to the manner in which 
school libraries can be j)rocured, the diversity of laws in 
the various States renders it difficult to make specific sug- 
gestions of a very general application. This, however, can 
be said : Every teacher or superintendent can interest him- 
self in seeing that the existing legal provisions for the 
supply of library books are applied in his district or county 
or city. 

The fact that there is an excellent township, city, or dis- 
trict library maintained independently of the school does 
not do away with the necessity for a school library of some 
sort, though it may modify the needs of the school in this 
respect, and prove of great value to teachers and pupils. 
The school library and the other (corporation) library may 
be made to supplement each other. 

The need for a school library of some sort is universal. 
In the most humble schoolhouse of a country district there 
should be a bookcase for the care of books that may be 
donated to the school, and for the preservation of unclaimed 
text-books that may be left in the building. Books which 
are donated to schools by x^ublishers, authors, and others are 
often lost to the schools through carelessness as to the proper 
disposition to be made of them. It is a lamentable fact that 



SCHOOL LIBBABIES 171 

very many persons who are estimable in their general char- 
acter have an easy conscience in the matter of books that 
"come easy 'Ho the school j and many teachers have been 
careless as to the final disposition of publications presented 
to them in trust for the benefit of the schools under their 
charge. 

The teacher who secures the nucleus of a library, and takes 
care that the books which come into the possession of the 
school are suitably stamped or marked to indicate such 
ownership, will generally have the satisfaction of seeing 
that nucleus expand. 

Certainly one rare and notable opportunity has been very 
generally neglected. Within the past fifteen years the 
Bureau of Education at Washington has been distributing 
large editions of well-printed Circulars of Information on a 
variety of subjects of the greatest interest and value to 
teachers, school officers, and students. 

These pamphlets are very rarely reprinted, and when the 
original supply is exhausted they are not to be had at any 
price. They should have been collected by teachers and 
superintendents, and bound for permanent preservation — 
for, while in pamphlet form they are tolej^ably durable, 
there are very many people who are prone to rate the value 
of a publication according to the expensiveness of its cover, 
and who see little value in an old official pamphlet. Chil- 
dren and janitors are by no means free from this tendency. 
As a result, the number of files of Circulars of Information 
in existence at this time is very small. A teacher who looks 
over the list of the Circulars of Information which have been 
issued from the Bureau cannot but feel a longing to have 
access to such a library, covering, as it does, a hundred 
points of educational interest in the modes of teaching, 
school supervision, school architecture and sanitation, school 
law, school recreations, etc. 

The best way in which to secure the permanent preserva- 
tion of a pamphlet — or, rather, the first thing to be done in 



172 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

order to secure it — is to have it durably and handsomely 
bound. Tlie expense of binding books is small — especially 
where, as in the case described, a number may be bound 
together. 

Report of the Committee of Ten. — One of the Circulars of 
Information is receiving very general attention at this time. 
This is the famous Report of the Committee of Ten. On the 
subject of English, considered as a branch of study, the 
Report contains the following practical suggestions : 

" From the beginning of the third year at school, the pupil 
should be required to supplement his regular reading-book 
with other reading-matter of a distinctly literary kind. At 
the beginning of the seventh school year the reading book may 
be discarded, and the pupil should henceforth read literature, 
— prose and narrative poetry in about equal parts. Com- 
plete works should usually be studied. When extracts must 
be resorted to, these should be long enough to possess a unity 
of their own and to serve as a fair specimen of an author's 
style and method. . . . 

" The study of literature and training in the expression 
of thought, taken together, are the fundamental elements in 
any proper high school course in English, and demand not 
merely the largest share of time and attention, but continuous 
and concurrent treatment throughout the four years. The 
"Conference therefore recommends the assignment of three 
hours a week for four years (or 480 hours in the total) to the 
study of literature, and the assignment of two hours a week 
for the first two years, and one hour a week for the last two 
years (or 240 hours in the total) to training in composition. 
By the study of literature the Conference means the study 
of the works of good authors, not the study of a manual of 
literary history. . . . 

" The history of English literature should be taught inci- 
dentally, in connection with the pupil's study of particular 
authors and works ; the mechanical use of ^ manuals of lit- 
erature ' should be avoided, and the committing to memory 



SCHOOL LIBE ABIES 173 

of names and dates slioiild not be mistaken for culture. In 
the fourth year, however, an attempt may be made, by means 
of lectures or otherwise, to give the pupil a view of our 
literature as a whole, and to acquaint him with the relations 
between periods. This instruction should accompany — not 
supersede — a chronologically arranged sequence of authors. 
In connection with it a syllabus or brief primer may be 
used. . . . 

"The specific recommendations of the Conference as to 
English requirements for admission to colleges and scientific 
schools are the following : 

" 1. That the reading of certain masterpieces of English 
literature, not fewer in number than those at present assigned 
by the Commission of New England Colleges, should be 
required. 

" 2. Each of these should be so far as possible representa- 
tive of some period, tendency, or type of literature, in order 
that alternative questions like those suggested in paragraph 
No. 5 (below) may be provided. The whole number of these 
works selected for any year should represent, with as few 
gaps as possible, the course of English literature from the 
Elizabethan period to the present time. 

" 3. Of these books a considerable number should be of a 
kind to be read by the student cursorily, and by himself. 
A limited number, however, may be read in the class room 
under the immediate direction of the teacher. 

" 4. In connection with the reading of all these required 
books the teacher should encourage parallel or subsidiary 
reading and the investigation of pertinent questions in liter- 
ary history and criticism. The faithfulness with which such 
auxiliary work is carried on should be constantly tested by 
means of written and oral reports and class-room discussion, 
and the same tests should be applied to the required books 
read cursorily (see paragraph No. 3). 

" 5. The Conference doubts the wisdom of requiring, for 
admission to college, set essays {e.g. on the books pre- 



174 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

scribed, as above, paragrapli No. 1), essays whose cMef pur- 
pose is to test the pupil's ability to write English. 

" It is believed that there are serious theoretical and prac- 
tical objections to estimating a student's power to write a 
language on the basis of a theme composed not for the sake 
of expounding something that he knows or thinks, but merely 
for the sake of showing his ability to write. Therefore, so 
long as the formal essay remains a part of the admission 
examination, it is recommended that questions on topics of 
literary history or criticism, or on passages cited from pre- 
scribed works, be set as an alternative." 

Choice of Books. — This extract, which is inserted some- 
what digressively, will serve to suggest the classes of books 
for high school pupils which is contemplated in the proposed 
plan for a systematic study of literature during the period of 
the high school course. Cheap and well-prepared editions 
of English classics are now issued in large numbers by 
various publishing houses, for the use of schools. At the 
same time, carefully graded books for children of the pri- 
mary and grammar departments of schools are published in 
great variety. To the exertions of the teachers and school 
officers of the country is largely due the vast change that 
has been wrought within the past decade in the character of 
the general reading of the boys and girls of America. To 
their continued efforts in this direction will be due incalcu- 
lable good in the future. 

The principal provinces of a library are history, science, 
and literature (using the term in its more restricted mean- 
ing). Included under these general divisions are biography, 
travel, the historical novel, the drama, x3oetry, the scientific 
treatise, essays, literary criticism, art criticism, romance, 
civil government, pedagogics, sociology, etc. 

It is not to be denied that juvenile books of history are 
much better adapted to interest and instruct the young 
readers than are the great works of the world's historians. 
Abbott's histories of Xerxes, Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Queen 



SCHOOL LIB BABIES 175 

Elizabeth, tlie Empress Josephine, etc., serve to awaken an 
interest which will lead the reader to appreciate the larger, 
more accurate, and more philosophical works of standard 
historians on the same subjects. Both classes should be in- 
cluded in the school library. A well-written juvenile his- 
tory of Greece will awaken in the pupil a desire to read 
Grote. The Story of the Nations will prepare the way for 
an appreciative reading of Motley, Prescott, Irving, Ban- 
croft, Macaulay, and Guizot. To be appreciated by the 
young, and by the public generally, books of science must 
be written in popular form. Happily for the youths of the 
English-speaking world, many of the most eminent scien- 
tists of the present day have shown themselves both willing 
and able to adapt themselves to the comprehension of the 
average reader, in the popularization of scientific knowledge. 

Condensation is a desideratum in this busy age, and the 
English " primers " of science, literature, and art (so called 
because of their condensed form) will constitute a very val- 
uable addition to any high school library. Among these 
" primers " may be mentioned Gladstone's Homer, Dowden's 
Shaksi^eare, Peile's Philology, Eyffe's History of Greece, 
Cr eight on' s History of Rome, Wendel's History of Egypt, 
Geikie's Geology, Lockyer's Astronomy, Jevons' Political 
Economy, Tighe's Development of the Roman Constitution, etc. 

In literature, the English classics for school use, which 
have been mentioned previously, cover almost the entire 
range of standard English authors from Shakspeare to Ten- 
nyson. Compilations of literature, such as Shepherd's His- 
torical Readings, Skinner's Readings in Folklore and The 
Schoolmaster in Literature, Swinton's Studies in Eiiglish 
Literature, etc., present within single volumes of convenient 
size and moderate expense a wide range of selections. 

Books of practical instruction on subjects relating to the 
household and on simple forms of manual training should 
belong to the school library. Such are Household Economy, 
the Seiving Primer, the Sloyd System of Woodworking, 



176 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Exercises in Woodvjorkmg, PrincijJles of Agriculture, Scien- 
tific Agriculture, etc. 

As to selections of books of fiction, Gail Hamilton's sug- 
gestions are pertinent : 

" The mind cannot long preserve its balance, if forced to 
subsist on any one kind of food ; how much less if that food 
be largely adulterated. If we must have a diet composed 
chiefly of sugarplums, let us at least have them from estab- 
lished factories, where we may be sure of a good article of 
its kind, and not content ourselves with a sickly concoction 
of sugar, flour, and water, simmered together in a thousand 
kitchen kettles. The lords and ladies of Waverley, the men 
and women of Thackeray, TroUope, Mrs. Stowe, Miss Muloch, 
or George Eliot would be a great improvement on the inter- 
minable procession of Hatties and Katies and Nellies and 
Georgies and Willies and Harries that now mince their 
missish ways over the library shelves. 

" It is said that they (the children) will read such books 
as they have, and others they will not read. Of course it is 
of no use to cumber our shelves with books that will never 
be touched. Little children must have little stories, and 
larger children must have larger stories, and the supply only 
answers to the demand. But if the argument holds good 
with regard to Sunday-school books, it holds still better 
with regard to novels. 

" I shall, however, be slow to believe that the children of 
Christian parents cannot be educated into higher tastes. If 
this unsubstantial but highly seasoned food were withheld 
from them, I cannot but think they would presently come 
to a healthy appetite. If they turn away from wholesome 
bread and butter and cry for tarts and jelly, let them cry 
till they are hungry, and then the bread and butter will 
have a fair chance of being appreciated." 

In the matter of the " little stories " for the " little chil- 
dren," public opinion has undergone a notable change within 
recent years. There have been, and still are, many persons 



SCHOOL LIB RABIES 177 

who object on conscientious grounds to the reading of fairy 
stories and fables by yonng children; but the number of 
such persons is far smaller now than in years gone by. 
Leading educators are almost unanimous in their opinion of 
the value of certain stories of this description in the moral 
training of the little ones. 

In his materials for moral lessons (see White's School 
Management), Dr. E. E. White mentions first among his 
" fairy and other classic tales " the stories of Cinderella 
(representing true worth) and Eed Eiding Hood (represent- 
ing obedience to parents). Almost every classic fable has 
a strong and pointed significance which will appeal to the 
moral nature of the child. Thus the fable of the lark and 
the farmer illustrates self-reliance ; that of the ant and the 
grasshopper, improvidence ; that of the donkey in the lion's 
skin, pretension, etc. A large number of fairy tales and 
other stories should be related by teachers to small pupils. 
Dr. White recommends that longer narratives of the same 
general description, such as the stories of Hans Christian 
Andersen and of Grimm, be read by pupils at their homes. 

It would seem strange that any thoughtful person should 
consider immoral the exercise of the God-given faculty of 
imagination. The harmful effects of dwarfing the imagina- 
tion of children are vividly set forth in the " Gradgrind sys- 
tem" of education as depicted by Dickens in Hard Times. 
It would be well, indeed, for every parent and teacher to read 
that work of the great patron and lover of childhood. 

Libraries and Bookcases. — Where the school collection of 
books is small, and is kept in a room devoted to general 
purposes, it should be kept in a closed bookcase and, so far 
as possible, secure from dust and from dampness. 

For the larger libraries of graded schools, a suitable room 
should be set apart. The room need not be large, but it 
should be conveniently located and well appointed. The 
books should be screened from the direct rays of the sun. 
The floors (of hard wood, closely driven) should be bare 

SCH. INT. & DUT. — 12 



178 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

or covered only with rugs, wliich. can be removed and 
thoroughly shaken in the open air. The doors and windows 
should shut closely, so as to exclude dust and dampness. 

The bookcases should not be of such a height as to render 
the upper shelves difficult of access. Short and not very 
wide bookcases can be arranged back to back, at right angles 
to the wall, along one side of the room. The opposite Avail 
may afford convenient space for the display of historical and 
scientific charts, maps, etc., and of suitable pictures. 

Where the room is properly kept, there is no real necessity 
for doors to the bookcases, and these are apt to prove incon- 
venient and troublesome. Whatever arrangement be made 
as to the custodian of the library — whether that office be 
assigned to a teacher or to one of the older pupils — only a 
careful and competent person should be in charge of the room. 

If there is a reading room for the use of pupils, it should 
generally be separate from the apartment in which the books 
are contained. The bookcases should be designated by 
letters, the shelves by numbers. Thus B 3 would indicate 
the third shelf of the second case. The books should be 
arranged by topics. In many school libraries patent covers 
are used on the books. These are inexpensive and easily ad- 
justed. Within the volume there should be a " book pocket," 
to contain the membership card, on which the issuing of the 
volume is recorded. The membership card should contain 
on the reverse side the regulations concerning the books. 

Library Catalogues. — There are various forms of cata- 
logues for libraries. It is highly important that there be 
a classified list of books, arranged in respect to topics, so 
that one who wishes to investigate any subject may see at 
a gla-nce what books in the library relate to it. A classified 
catalogue, moreover, offers a graphic suggestion to the libra- 
rian as to the subjects in which his list is deficient. 

An alphabetical catalogue of the books, under the names 
of the authors or editors, is also highly desirable. Both the 
classified and alphabetical lists can be printed in book form 



SCHOOL LIBBABIES 179 

or on long cards, for convenient reference. Where the list 
is not very long, the card catalogues are generally preferred. 

A third plan for a catalogue is that of card slips. A 
wooden box or drawer, without a cover, is filled with cards 
of the size of ordinary envelopes, which fit into it like enve- 
lopes in a box, except that the box or drawer is shallower, so 
that the cards can be easily taken u]3. Beginning with the 
first card, and proceeding in the regular alphabetical order 
of the authors' names, the titles of the books are written 
upon the several cards (one on each), together with any 
matter of special interest in reference to the book — its 
relation to any other works, the edition, etc. 

In a card slip catalogue of this sort, various independent 
parts of a single volume are given upon separate cards. In 
the case of such a work as Seven American Classics, a part 
of the book containing selections from any one of the seven 
authors — Irving, Cooper, Bryant, Hawthorne, Longfellow, 
Whittier, and Holmes — is catalogued separately. This is 
apt to make the card slip system rather cumbrous, but it 
proves, in the end, a great saving of time and trouble. 

As the cards are frequently consulted, they will be occa- 
sionally replaced (even by careful persons) in ,a wrong order, 
unless this is prevented by some practical device to secure 
a return to their proper place in the case. A favorite plan 
is to have a slot cut in each card, so that the entire number 
can be strung upon wires or rods. The slot should be cut 
near to the bottom of the card, and should be long enough 
to permit the card to be raised for convenient reading, after 
the wire is strung through it and fastened upon the ends 
of the box or drawer. The cards should be very loosely 
strung, to leave room for the fingers to pass in picking 
them up. 

In many details of its management, the teacher or super- 
intendent in charge of a considerable school library will 
profit by a visit to some city library for the purpose of 
studying its workings. 



180 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

A New Profession. — The care of libraries is no\y recog- 
nized as a distinct profession. There are at the present 
time various excellent schools for the training of librarians. 
In these, every subject relating to the interests of the read- 
ing public is studied in detail. As a result, there is now 
a more general consensus of opinion than at any previous 
time in respect to the real character and value of the books 
in the market ; also in respect to plans of library buildings, 
modes of classifying, preserving, and distributing books ; 
and whatever else pertains to libraries and publications. 

Ambitious girls are entering this profession in every 
State, for it offers an excellent field for woman's work. 
Boys, too, are looking with interest upon the rise of the 
new profession. The management of a modest school library 
will offer an excellent preparation for a library course. 

In the selection of suitable books, the teacher will find 
the opinions of library experts very valuable, for there are 
few books in our language which have not been passed 
upon by competent library critics. 

The reckless provision of books of questionable character 
for the use of children is disappearing under the higher 
criticism of library experts, and authors of juvenile books in 
the future will find themselves under restrictions unheard 
of hitherto. From being perhaps the most careless nation 
in the world in the matter of reading for the young, we 
may soon change to the most critical and careful. The 
books of the future which are professionally " approved " 
under the high standard of the later librarians must be 
of the best that can be written. 

In the matter of a school library, the true modern teacher 
will make his influence felt. He will leave his impress upon 
the community by aiding to secure wholesome literature for 
the pupils, and by encouraging in them habits of systematic 
reading — the reading which " maketh a full man." If the 
teacher fails to do this, he leaves unperformed one of the 
most important of his duties. 



CHAPTER IX 

SCHOOL MORALS 

To what extent are morals tauglit in the public schools ? 
How can the parent cooperate with the teacher in the moral 
training of the children ? Should there be a definite effort 
to impart instruction in morals ? 

Moral Training in the Schools. — These are questions which 
will be discussed in this chapter. There are many persons 
who will say that there should be no attempt to impart 
instruction in morals, since, as they aver, this is not the 
province of the school. They confound moral training with 
religious instruction, and fear that it means the inculcation 
of sectarian doctrines. These persons are not numerous. 
The idea that instruction in morals means the performance 
of a religious ceremony is dropping very rapidly out of 
sight. 

The divorce between Church and State has been followed 
largely by the nonobservance of religious rites in secular 
employments. The great majority of the people recognize 
the fact that moral training can be inculcated without 
religious instruction, except that religion is understood to 
be the foundation of all sense of obligation; for we under- 
stand morality to be a sense of the obligation which one 
person owes to his fellow, to society, and to himself. 

There is a large number of teachers who believe in what 
they call " moral training." It should occupy, they con- 
ceive, fifteen minutes of each school session, and the time 
on the programme assigned to " Opening Exercises " is de- 

181 



182 SCHOOL INTEEESTS AND DUTIES 

voted to it daily, or perhaps several times every week. 
This " moral training " consists in the reading of a story to 
impress, perhaps, a lesson of kindness. Or it may be that 
patriotism, honesty, benevolence, or bravery is the theme. 
Then a song is sung — perhaps Kind Words Can Never Die. 
It may be that a chapter of the Bible is read, without com- 
ment, and a short prayer is offered. All this is beautiful, 
and, in the hands of the tactful teacher, may be made strik- 
ingly impressive, and may bear good fruit in better lives. 

Other teachers there are, who do not give the subject any 
thought at all. They conceive their duty to be ended when 
they have duly carried out the set recitations of the pro- 
gramme, and have done all they can do to impart instruction 
in the branches they have engaged to teach. 

We believe that both these classes lose sight of the 
deeper fact that, whether they will it or not, there is a 
training in morals going on all the time in their school- 
rooms. It would be well, indeed, that they should realize 
the fact ; for when once awakened to it, they can be conscious, 
instead of unconscious, factors in the development of a 
moral atmosphere which will have a lasting influence on 
the plastic souls of the children. 

Let the teachers continue the beautiful stories, if they 
like. It is well that they do this. Any story that will 
strike a responsive thrill will give an impulse towards the 
ideal of the tale. Any charming narrative of kindness dis- 
played toward the brute creation will have its softening 
influence on hard, cruel tendencies of young souls. Any 
description of scenes where nobility of character is dis- 
played in showing reverence for gray hairs will awaken to 
thoughtfulness the indifferent carelessness which is the 
cause of young people's forgetting so often to do the little 
act of kind courtesy that would warm a mother's heart or 
bring to the eyes of the neglected and distressed stranger 
the tears of gratitude. These exercises may bear fruit in 
beautiful deeds that will make the world brighter. 



SCHOOL MOBALS 183 

But it should be remembered that the training of the 
morals is certain to go beyond the fifteen minutes of the 
opening exercises. The tender emotions awakened by 
the beautiful story and stirred by the sweet song will 
have no effect on character unless followed by some definite 
act of the will. Indeed, in some respects it is better not 
to have resolved at all than to have resolved and then made 
no effort to carry out the resolution. If the tale of kind- 
ness leads the child to abstain from cruelty, it has wrought 
a lasting good. If the story of patriotic fervor has awak- 
ened a thrill at the sight of the flag, it has not been wasted. 
It is insisted that morality is a training of the will and a 
formation of habits, rather than a knowledge of theoretical 
principles. 

The Teacher's Responsibility. — The school is one of the 
greatest forces that can be wielded in the moral training for 
citizenship. It stands next to, and in some points ahead 
of, the family. The teacher — every teacher — is, of course, 
aware of the fact that his own life and actions are having 
their effect on the destinies of his x)upils. Every teacher is 
conscious of the fact that his tastes and modes of thought 
are molding theirs ; so must his bearing and habits affect 
theirs. 

The teacher feels this strongly at times, I think, and he 
must have a sense of it always. If he has flippant notions 
of life, if he regards it as a great jest, many a boy will come 
to look upon. it in the same way. If his view is a m@rbid 
one, if he is a lugubrious pessimist, he will have no greater 
immediate effect, perhaps, on the sunny brightness of youth 
than a sudden shower on an April morning. The dire in- 
fluence of his blighted life may make its appearance later. 

The Discipline of the School. — But it is not only the 
teacher's personal influence that I wish to emphasize at this 
time ; it is of the influence of the school as an institution 
that I would speak. The mechanical discipline of the school 
has a great weight in moral training. The teacher who is lax 



184 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

in discipline is doing a far greater injury to the child than is 
seen in the interference with proper study and recitation 
work. " Mechanical virtues," says Dr. Harris, " are indis- 
pensable as an elementary basis of ^character." What an 
admirable place is the school for acquiring these virtues. 
For example, there is the virtue of obedience. The school 
demands obedience, and the acquired habit of rendering it 
means obedience to parents ; it means obedience to employers 
and officers in after life ; it means obedience to civil law and 
authority ; it means obedience to the law of God. 

Punctuality is one result of this habit of obedience. The 
child is taught to be prompt in going to school. The dispo- 
sition to be idle, the careless use of his moments, the morn- 
ing nap, must give way to the habit of observing the 
particular point of time when it is his duty to do a specific 
thing. This law of punctuality governs the whole life of 
the school. Eecitations must begin promptly, and end as 
promptly. There can be little idling or attending to other 
business than that which is in hand. 

The power of self-control is strengthened by refraining 
from doing that which will disturb others. The pupil's 
obedience to the laAv of the school should lead him to be 
as quiet as possible, in order that he may not interfere with 
the work and comfort of others. He should be led to see 
that his resistance of the desire to chatter and gossip with 
his fellows will result in a great and wholesome good in 
after life. It will keep him, perhaps, from " opening his 
mouth frequently when he has nothing to say. It will do 
more : it will lead him unconsciously to observe the rights 
of others, and so will lay the foundation of the very impor- 
tant social virtue of courtesy. 

Further, the pupil will be led into habits of industry. 
The definite assignment of a certain amount of work daily 
will prove the best training in habits of work. Nothing can 
be better than the taking up, each day, of a definite pro- 
gramme of work and accomplishing it. The effects of this 



SCHOOL 3I0RALS 185 

discipline will last far beyond tlie school life of the pnpil. 
Industry will become a fixed habit. The teacher who is lax 
in his effort to secure these important " mechanical virtues/' 
does an incalculable injury to the child. 

Parents can render great assistance to the teacher by so 
arranging the duties of the household that there may be no 
interference with the law of the school. In this they will 
be doing their children a greater service than they may 
realize. They can make it their care to see that there is 
regular attendance on the part of the pupils. The arrange- 
ment of the household which permits the child to be punc- 
tual one day should become the permanent arrangement, so 
that he may be punctual every day. 

Moreover, the parent should assist the teacher by seeing 
that the allotted tasks for home study are performed. He 
must see that, in doing this, he is assisting in the great 
influence of the school in favor of habits of systematic 
industry. There are interests at stake other than the child's 
progress in knowledge — interests which are perhaps weight- 
ier. Foundations of character are laid, that will affect his 
destiny through life. Are not the " little things " worthy of 
the careful attention of the parents ? Should they not be 
insisted upon by every teacher ? 

Social Duties of School Children. — On the other hand, the 
teacher must not be a tyrant in his school. There must 
be no police system of surveillance, nor cruel exercise of 
authority. They will produce a brood of cheats and hypo- 
crites. The children must themselves realize the law of the 
school, and must feel that it is their duty and privilege to 
be punctual, regular, and courteous to other pupils and to 
the teacher. 

The habit of refraining from noise, as a matter of courtesy, 
rises above the plane of the habits inculcated by the ma- 
chinery of the school. It is more than a mechanical art. 
It involves consideration for others — the relation of man 
to man 5 and so is really a social duty. In this and in other 



186 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

ways the school does instill these higher duties which make 
moral fiber. 

The pupil's regard for himself and for his fellows will 
cause him to pay attention to his person. It will induce 
him to be cleanly and tidy — to brush his teeth, his hair, 
and his clothes ; to keep his hands and face clean, and his 
nails presentable. It will keep him from intemperance in 
eating; it will be a check upon intemperance in speech; 
and it will restrain him from the use of slang, and from ob- 
scenity and profanity. 

The school should be the training school of all forms of 
courtesy. It should inculcate all that is meant by good 
breeding. It should teach respect for the opinions of others. 
It should teach the child to see the good points of others, 
rather than their faults. The personal influence of the 
teacher will have its effect here, more than in any other 
particular. 

Truth telling is another social duty which is strongly 
emphasized in the good school. The teacher who will com- 
pel his students to search out the exact truth of the matter 
under investigation, and who will then insist that the result 
of the investigation be told in exact language, clearly, and 
without any misrepresentation arising from inexact and 
careless use of words, is affording an exercise in truth 
telling, which goes far deeper than the subject matter of the 
lesson. 

Honesty of purpose, uprightness, and integrity are all 
fostered under the teacher who sees that lessons are care- 
fully prepared and carefully recited, and who notes what 
pupils are deserving, respectively, of commendation and of 
reproof. 

Respect for Law. — Concerning the teacher's respect for 
law, Dr. W. T. Harris remarks : " The school, when governed 
by an arbitrary and tyrannical teacher, is a demoralizing in- 
fluence in a community. The law-abiding virtue is weakened, 
and a whole troop of lesser virtues take their flight and give 



SCHOOL MORALS 18T 

admittance to passions and appetites. But, on tlie other 
hand, the Avise and just teacher will teach respect for law 
very thoroughly. 

" A great change has been wronght in the methods of dis- 
cipline in later years. It is clear that with frequent and 
severe corporal punishment it is next to impossible to retain 
genuine respect for law. Only the very rare teacher can 
succeed in this. Punishment through the sense of honor 
has, therefore, superseded for the most part, in our best 
schools, the use of the rod. It is now easy to find the school 
admirably disciplined and its pupils enthusiastic and law- 
abiding — governed entirely without the use of corporal 
punishment." 

The teacher has a far greater responsibility than that of 
imparting a knowledge of the binomial theorem or Latin 
case endings. He is responsible for a law in the school 
which will train the pupil rightly along the lines indicated 
above, and which will make him a law unto himself. The 
whole aim of education is self -culture. Culture consists in 
standing above the present moment, and in seeing the remo- 
ter good ; it consists in seeing in things all that is really in 
them, including their relation to each other and to the uni- 
verse of God; it consists in realizing our responsibilities 
and seeing before us our ideal. 

Higher than the habits absorbed unconsciously by the 
pupil in his mechanical performance of the requirements of 
the school ; higher than the sense of social duties of punc- 
tuality, courtesy, and respect for authority, are the lofty 
virtues which the true teacher will impart by a spirit of true 
kindness pervading his school. Consideration, gratitude, 
friendliness, benevolence, toleration, patriotism, tenderness, 
charity, and kindred virtues will all swell the hearts of the 
impressionable children, and will be mighty factors in the 
development of true men and women. 

This spirit of true kindness can hardly live where envy 
and personal hatred are fostered by the pernicious custom 



188 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

of offering medals and prizes for successful work. Pride, 
envy, and selfishness are surely opposed to the cardinal 
virtues mentioned above, and not much else results from 
the prize system. 

To sum up : since we see that the school is certain to have 
a powerful influence in the moral training of children, does 
it not seem that it rests with the teacher what sort of train- 
ing it shall be? The teacher who will inspire habits of 
punctuality, regularity, and self-control; of courtesy, honor, 
and respect for law ; of kindness, toleration, and patriotism ; 
of tenderness, forgiveness, and humility — must himself be 
punctual, regular, and self-contained ; must be courteous, 
and honorable, and have respect for authority ; must be 
kind, tolerant, patriotic, tender, forgiving, and humble. 
Then will he be able to give his pupils that which will 
enable them to help themselves. He will impart that 
moral vigor which will cause them to be good for the 
sake of being good. 



VI 

. SCHOOL ETIQUETTE 

SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AND 
OBSERVANCES 



CHAPTER X 

SCHOOL ETIQUETTE 

The Meaning of Etiquette. — The word etiquette signified 
originally a label, designating the contents of a parcel. The 
etiquette revealed at a glance the nature of the package upon 
which it was placed. So now, in a more general sense, it 
may be said that the character of the man is designated by 
his bearing towards others, and by his observance of those 
common rules of conduct which add very largely to the sum 
total of human happiness. This is etiquette in the modern 
sense, in which the word is used throughout this chapter. 
The true foundation of all etiquette is a spirit of kindness 
and courtesy. Every one requires training in the proprieties 
of social life. 

Forms differ in many resx3ects in the various countries, 
and often in different localities of the same country. The 
members of the House of Commons in England wear their 
hats during the sessions. This Avould be deemed a gross 
impropriety in an American Congress or Legislature. In 
the city of Washington, it is the custom for newcomers 
to make the first calls ; while in other cities the rule is 
the reverse of this. In the main, however, the rules of 
polite society are essentially the same in the enlightened 
nations. 

The Importance of Etiquette. — There are many who under- 
estimate the importance of etiquette, and who regard the 
social usages of representative society as in the nature of 
affectation. This is a grave error. A regard for social 
usages has much to do with success in life. Men sometimes 

191 



192 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

succeed witliout it; yet where some succeed, many fail 
because of their lack in this respect. 

Americans have not a flattering reputation in other coun- 
tries, in respect to politeness, though all the world admires 
their enterprise, courage, and generosity. The statesman- 
ship of American diplomats at the courts of the world has 
been universally recognized ; but some of these distinguished 
men have been remembered in society for unfortunate social 
blunders which, though seemingly trifling in themselves, 
were to be regretted, to say the least. Many a young man 
of ability has been handicapped in the race for honor and 
fame by not having learned what the usages of good society 
require. Young men not superior in other qualifications 
have outstripped him in the race because they had in mind 
and practiced at all times those little kindly courtesies 
which custom demands. 

A country in which the highest political and social posi- 
tions are open to all should be, of all countries, one in which 
social culture is universal. In homes of refinement, children 
acquire it unconsciously. Unfortunately, in many homes the 
proprieties of life are often violated, and politeness is deemed 
a luxury to be reserved for strangers and for formal occa- 
sions. Among the members of such households there is a 
lack of cheery greetings, of apologies for little errors, and 
thanks for little favors, of delicacy in matters which affect 
the sensibilities, and of gentleness in word and deed. Even 
children most fortunate in their home surroundings may 
acquire coarseness of manner from their contact with the 
ill-mannered during the susceptible period of school life. 

The Influence of Example. — In the school the manners of 
children are molded or, at least, influenced in a large degree. 
The teacher should be a pattern of deportment. Example 
is the most effective teacher. Even the servants of the 
really refined are apt to exhibit a better deportment than 
citizens of influence whose ideas of propriety have been 
acquired only in a theoretical way. 



SCHOOL ETIQUETTE 193 

Etiquette not a Mere System of Forms. — By "school 
etiquette" is not meant a mere system of forms to be 
observed in the schooboom. The spirit of etiquette is 
not to be limited to any room or place. True politeness 
springs from the heart. If the spirit of kindness and 
courtesy reigns in the individual, it will need only a few 
thoughtful suggestions here and there to guide specifically 
the outward conduct in the school, in church, in the parlor 
or office, or on the street. 

Formerly it was deemed necessary for public libraries to 
have conspicuously posted placards requesting gentlemen to 
remove their hats on entering. This is now generally dis- 
continued, as an unneeded precaution, though we may still 
frequently see on street cars a printed request to pas- 
sengers to keep their feet off the seats. Sometimes teachers 
post in their halls printed rules of propriety to be observed. 
Generally it will be found better to inculcate politeness in 
another way. 

Facial Expression. — The expression of the countenance is 
an index to the spirit of the individual. " On entering a 
school," says Gow, " and examining the faces of the pupils, 
we are unconsciously drawn to some and repelled by others. 
Whence comes this difference ? Looking around, we discover 
here a face wearing a pleasant but not affected smile, while 
there sits one that cultivates a habitual frown, whose mouth 
and brows are rough, with a coarse expression of unlove- 
liness. Here is one that bears a bright, intelligent counte- 
nance; he' is a student, a thinker. There is one whose face 
never lights up with emotion. He does not care to learn. 
Here is one that wears a silly simper, that is ready to laugh 
at the slightest occasion, indicating a vacant, trifling character. 
Here is one who is full of affectation, whose mouth is moving 
in pretense of study, but whose eye is watching to see whether 
he is observed. Here is one who affects coarseness, who is 
abrupt and rude, whose manner indicates respect neither for 
himself nor others. And there is a coward, who takes 

SCH. INT. & DUT. — 13 



194 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

advantage of his teaclier. Injustice may be done sometimes 
in thus forming an estimate of character from appearances. 
Yet as a rule we may distinguish intelligence, gentleness, 
and kindness from ignorance, coarseness, and brutality, by 
an inspection of the countenance. Habits of mind are 
stamped upon the face. This is true even of animals. The 
heart and mind educate the features to express what they 
suggest." 

Manner of Speaking. — Politeness is indicated by the tones 
of the voice, as well as by the words employed. " What a 
wonderful power," says Gow, "the sweetly modulated ac- 
cents of a fine voice exert upon the ear ; and with what a 
charm they invest its fortunate possessor ! Good or bad 
impressions are made upon us, not only by what people say, 
but by the tones used in conversation. We feel attracted or 
repulsed by a person's voice before we have heard fully 
what he has to say. Habits of thought are indicated to a 
great degree by habits of expression, as he who is habitually 
ill-natured will give expression to his thoughts in ill-natured 
tones. Some young people have a fashion of drawling their 
words ; others speak with amazing rapidity. Some deliver 
their thoughts in a high, squeaking key ; others utter short, 
low, growling tones. Some speak so softly that they are 
heard with difficulty ; while others are loud, boisterous, and 
harsh. All these varieties of utterance indicate a want of 
culture. Good society demands that we make ourselves as 
agreeable as possible, and nothing serves to make a better 
first impression than a carefully trained voice. ' Politeness 
requires that we speak clearly, distinctly, and always loud 
enough to be easily heard, without being boisterous and 
rude. A whispering style of expression is annoying; a 
boisterous manner is vulgar." 

Propriety of Speech. — The use of pure, correct language 
and the avoidance of slang and of coarseness in speech are 
exceedingly desirable. The employment of stilted speech 
and the parading of a knowledge of foreign terms are highly 



SCHOOL ETIQUETTE 195 

objectionable. On tbe other hand, the nse of but a limited 
vocabulary, insufficient for the distinctions which a cultivated 
person should make in his use of words, is not to be com- 
mended. 

Politeness in words is one of the most important lessons 
to learn. It excludes gross familiarity, even among intimate 
friends, and it forbids all remarks of a nature to wound the 
feelings. Often it is violated thoughtlessly, and from mere 
force of habit. How frequently do we hear, in a neighbor- 
hood, such characterizations as "old Mrs. Jones," "the 
widow Smith," etc. Yet the habitual designation of indi- 
viduals by their age or afflictions is not agreeable to the 
sensitive, and should not be encouraged. 

";N"ever say an ill-natured thing, nor be witty at the ex- 
pense of any one present, nor gratify the inclination, which 
is sometimes very strong in young people, to laugh at and 
ridicule the weaknesses or infirmities of others, by way of 
diverting the company." 

Topics of conversation should be chosen with due respect 
for the tastes of the persons present. Egotism and false 
modesty are to be alike avoided. Heated discussions should 
be shunned, and likewise all remarks likely to lead to them ; 
there must always be, of necessity, a wide difference of opinion 
on most questions. Wlien it becomes evident that a discus- 
sion is distasteful to any of the company, a i^erson of tact 
will quickly change it. 

Politeness requires that the speaker shall turn his face 
directly to the person addressed, and that the latter shall 
look directly at the speaker. Interruptions in conversation 
are impolite. While nothing but the truth should ever be 
spoken, the truth itself is not always to be told, particularly 
of the absent. It must be remembered that a half -told truth 
often bears the suggestion of a falsehood ; and in all remarks 
which one person makes concerning another, the speaker 
should have a care to observe not only exact justice, but also 
to exercise a spirit of charity and kindness. 



196 SCHOOL INTEEESTS ANB DUTIES 

Forms of Address. — To address others respectfully is a 
practice which no cultured person will neglect. " The poor 
people," says Miss Mitford, "are always nice judges of 
behavior." The aged are apt to be sensitive as to the man- 
ner in which they are addressed. 

Happily, we have in America no system of hereditary 
rank, with its complicated titles and forms of address, such 
as obtains in many nations. Kepublican institutions favor a 
sense of manly and womanly self-respect ; and the courtesy 
which we expect from others we ourselves should be certain 
to practice in all oar intercourse with others and in all our 
references to them. 

As a nation we have been charged — perhaps justly — 
with a fondness for titles. It is a false idea of etiquette 
which prompts the bestowal of these upon persons who have 
no rightful claim to them. It has been humorously related 
that a gentleman standing upon a wharf once called out 
" Good-by, Colonel," to a friend upon the deck of a depart- 
ing steamship, and that his salutation was answered by every 
gentleman upon the deck. Military titles won in the service 
of our country, and certain other titles of office, are apt to 
be remembered affectionately by the people 5 and their con- 
tinued use in address is by no means improper. It is only 
their indiscriminate and meaningless employment that is 
objectionable. 

It is claimed that the title Professor has been much abused. 
Formerly it was restricted to specialists in the various de- 
partments of learning, and applied to those who filled chairs 
of special instruction in colleges. It has become far more 
general in its application. As a result, a number of colleges 
have been led to discard it altogether. There are those who 
apply the title without discrimination to school officers and 
teachers of all grades, and there are others who never employ 
it. There seems to be no good reason why a distinction in 
the mode of address should be made between instructors in 
collegiate institutions and other educators, equally capable, 



SCHOOL ETIQUETTE 19T 

wlio are engaged in tlie service of the public schools. While 
this title should not be applied to those who object to it, or 
to young and inexperienced teachers, it may be used with 
propriety in addressing instructors of recognized attainments, 
especially elderly men in the profession who have attested 
their claims to respect as representative educators. 

Deportment upon the Street. — A graceful carriage in walk- 
ing is well worth the care of acquiring. One should not walk 
too rax^idly, nor should he saunter lazily along. The habit 
of stooping when standing or walking is inelegant, and leads 
to a deformity of the body. Those who stand and walk erect 
in their earlier years will not so soon become bowed by age. 
The toes shordd turn outward. The steps should be of 
even length. A swinging gait and all forms of ungraceful 
carriage should be avoided. 

Persons passing each other in the street should turn to 
the right. When a gentleman is walking with a lady, he 
may keep to the outside of the sidewalk in case there is 
liability to annoyance from teams, etc., in the street ; other- 
wise, it is preferable for him to walk at the left of the lady. 
A gentleman should never take a lady's arm. He may offer 
his arm to a lady with whom he may be walking in the 
evening; and in the daytime, also, in any place of danger 
(as when the walk is slippery), or of inconvenience (as when 
the street is obstructed by a crowd). A gentleman recog- 
nized on the street by a female acquaintance should lift his 
hat politely, and make a respectful bow. The motion 
should not be "jerky" or self-conscious. Erom long habit 
it may become so natural as to be involuntary. 

" Young people should always be prompt to acknowledge 
the politeness of those who notice them," says Gow. " They 
should never speak to their superiors first, as it might be 
construed as a mark of pert familiarity ; but when a lady 
or gentleman wishes to salute them, they should respond 
with a pleasant 'good morning' or 'good evening,' as the 
case may be, accompanied by an agreeable smile. It is 



198 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

expected that a lady will always recognize tlie gentleman 
first ; a girl tlie boy ; and as a rule, tlie superior, the inferior 
in age or station. When young men or boys meet their 
superiors in age and station, or those of the other sex, who 
recognize them, they should always lift their hats politely 
and make a respectful bow." 

The Deportment at the School. — The conduct of boys and 
girls on the school grounds and in the halls of the school 
building, where they are under less restraint than in the 
schoolroom, is a test of their gentlemanly and ladjlike 
character. It is not a universal custom, even in representa- 
tive colleges, for students to remove their hats on entering 
the halls. This is customary, however, in many colleges 
and schools, and is to be encouraged, as an act of gentle- 
manly propriety. A sense of delicacy will lead boys to 
precede girls in ascending stairways, and to give them the 
precedence in descending. Boisterousness in the halls is 
inadmissible, whether within or without the hours of the 
school session. Where gentlemanly and ladylike instincts 
prevail in the pupil, they will not fail to manifest themselves 
at all times and places. 

Care for Articles of Value. — A spirit of forwardness often 
leads young persons to take liberties with the property of 
others, and especially with public property. A want of care 
in respect to articles of taste and delicacy is a common 
result of a lack of familiarity with them. There is an edu- 
cational value in tasteful and elegant appointments of a 
schoolroom. Where the pupil is not trained to use these 
properly, the results of this default soon become notice- 
able. Books of the school library — sometimes rare and 
valuable — are returned with leaves turned down and other- 
wise injured. Costly globes are ruined by the touch of 
many hands. Pianos and other furniture of polished sur- 
face are disfigured by finger marks and scratches. Diction- 
aries and other books for general use have their leaves 
soiled by the marks of wet thumbs. Valuable apparatus 



SCHOOL ETIQUETTE 199 

is rendered utterly worthless by meddlesome liandling. 
Organs and other musical instruments sustain injury from 
untrained players. Specimens in mineralogical cabinets are 
carelessly broken, and rendered worthless, by pupils igno- 
rant of their value. Instances like these might be multi- 
plied indefinitely. A little suggestion here and there from 
the teacher will do much to correct their pupils of such 
faults as those indicated, which spring not from malice or 
willfulness, but from a want of proj^er training. 

At public art reviews in cities there are often many visi- 
tors who are ready to touch with finger, pencil, or even with 
cane or umbrella, the valuable paintings on exhibition, and 
who are prevented from so doing only by the watchfulness 
and care of the custodians. Such visitors should have 
learned better manners in school, if not at home. 

Correspondence. — Correspondence, like conversation, is a 
test of the refinement of the writer. The subject is gener- 
ally treated, to a limited extent, in books of composition 
and rhetoric, and pupils are cautioned against improprieties 
in the form and address of letters. Neatness in appearance, 
and accuracy and completeness in the address, are impor- 
tant considerations. Inks of unusual colors are to be avoided, 
as are envelopes of peculiar shape and style. The use of the 
word city in place of the name of the city is objectionable. 

Such legends as " Courtesy of Mr. '' or " Kindness of 

Miss " are falling into disuse. The superscription 

should be not only neat and legible, but also sufiicient and 
specific. 

Letters add much to the pleasure and to the pain of 
human life. Words thoughtlessly written often cause 
wretchedness where no unkindness is intended. Impru- 
dent letters of young peox3le often result in mortification to 
the writers. Candor, courtesy, and simple dignity should 
characterize the correspondence of boys and girls. The 
teacher's influence and example in all that relates to letter 
writing will not be lost upon his pupils. 



200 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Deportment at Meals. — The proprieties of eating are of 
very great importance. Few persons wlio disregard these 
are aware of the discomfort they cause to their companions 
who have had tlie benefit of more careful training. In 
many schools there are pupils who reside at a distance from 
the schoolhousCj and who bring luncheons with them. All 
should possess such a knowledge of proper conduct at meals 
as will enable them to be companionable to one another on 
such occasions. This knowledge will be of value to them 
through life, and will enable them to derive greater enjoy- 
ment from their social relations. Every repast should be 
seasoned with good humor. Sociability is an aid to the 
digestion. The napkins of adults should be held in the lap, 
and not tucked into the collar or buttonhole. Only small 
children require a napkin upon the breast. 

In the mastication of food the lips should be kept closed. 
Eapid eating is not only harmful, but also offensive. The 
food should be slowly and thoroughly masticated, and should 
be eaten noiselessly. The smacking of the lips is disgusting. 
Bread and cake should be broken, and not cut or bitten from 
the slice. The na]3kin may be used to wi|)e the lips, but 
not as a handkerchief to wipe the face. The elbows should 
be kept near the body, and no one should lean or rest upon 
the table. Drinking at meals should be very moderate in 
amount, but a few swallows at a time. Tea or coffee should 
not be poured out to be drunk from a saucer. The teaspoon 
should not be left in the cup, but at its side, in the saucer. 
Drinking, like eating, should be noiseless. 

The knife, fork, and s]30on should be used gracefully, and 
not rudely grasped. Food that can be eaten with the fork 
should not be eaten with the spoon. The knife should not 
be used to convey food to the mouth. Coughing, spitting, 
blowing the nose, stroking the hair, etc., are highly improper 
at meals, and can be generally avoided. These simple prin- 
ciples of behavior, and many more which will readily occur 
to the teacher, should be inculcated in the minds and habits 



SCHOOL ETIQUETTE 201 

of boys and girls. Most children are ready and willing to 
learn what is proper. 

Care of the Person. — Neatness of person and attire are 
matters which should receive constant and careful attention. 
The face, neck, and ears, and the hands and wrists require 
frequent washing and brisk rubbing. The nails should be 
regularly trimmed, and the finger-tips cleansed with a nail- 
brush. Teeth that are not regularly brushed are offensive, 
and are apt to become carious. The hair should be carefully 
combed and brushed. 

The clothing, whatever its quality, should be kept clean 
by frequent brushing. Boots and shoes require especial care 
in order that they may be ]3resentable ; they should be kept 
well polished and free from dust and mud. The linen 
should be frequently changed. Soiled cuffs and collars 
detract greatly from the appearance. The hat should not 
be abused or neglected. If dark - in color, it will show dust 
easily. The following verses from a poem by Dr. Oliver 
Wendell Holmes contain sensible hints upon the subject 
of dress : 

" From little matters let us pass to less, • 
And lightly touch the mysteries of dress ; 
The outward forms the inner man reveal, 
We guess the pulp before we eat the peel. 
One single precept might the whole condense — 
Be sure your tailor is a man of sense ; 
But add a little care, or decent pride. 
And always err upon the sober side. 
Wear seemly gloves ; not black, nor yet too light, 
And least of all the pair that once was white. 
Have a good hat. The secret of your looks 
Lies with the beaver in Canadian brooks. 
Virtue may flourish in an old cravat. 
But man and nature scorn the shocking hat. 
Be shy of breastpins : plain, well-ironed white, 
With small pearl buttons — two of them in sight. 
Is always genuine, while your gems may pass. 
Though real diamonds, for ignoble glass," 



202 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Gow's Morals and Manners reproduces from an old peri- 
odical for boys and girls an anecdote illustrative of the 
impression produced and the influence exerted by good 
manners in dress and in conduct. It is as follows : 

A gentleman advertised for a boy to assist him in his 
office, and nearly fifty applicants presented themselves to 
him. Out of the whole number he, in a short time, selected 
one and dismissed the rest. 

" I should like to know," said a friend, " on what ground 
you selected that boy, Avho had not a single recommenda- 
tion ? " 

" You are mistaken," said the gentleman ; " he had a great 
many. He wiped his feet when he came in, and closed the 
door after him, showing that he was careful. He gave up 
his seat instantly to that lame old man, showing he was 
kind and thoughtful. He took off his cap when he came 
in, and answered my questions promptly and respectfully, 
showing he was polite and gentlemanly. He picked up the 
book which I had purposely laid on the floor, and replaced 
it on the table, while all the rest stepped over it, or shoved 
it aside ; and he waited quietly for his turn, instead of push- 
ing and crowding, showing that he was honest and orderly. 
When I talked with him I noticed that his clothes were 
carefully brushed, his hair in nice order, and his teeth as 
white as milk ; and when he wrote his name, I noticed that 
his finger nails were clean, instead of being tipped with jet, 
like that handsome little fellow's in the blue jacket. Don't 
you call those things letters of recommendation? I do; 
and I would give more for what I can tell about a boy by 
using my eyes ten minutes than for all the fine letters he 
can bring me." 

Washington's Rules of Civility. — The earliest manuscript 
that is preserved of Washington's papers is a writing book 
of thirty pages, in which, at about the age of fourteen years, 
he copied a large number of maxims of deportment; entitled 
Rules of Civility. 



SCHOOL ETIQUETTE 203 

Tliese simple exercises are an index to the cliaracter 
and habits of the Father of his Country. To his unfailing 
courtesy and consideration for others Avas due much of his 
great success in life. Apart from the lively interest which 
the Rules of Civility possess, as a memorial of the youth of 
so eminent a character in the history of the world, they are 
generally valuable as a guide for the manners and morals of 
the youth of to-day. 

In the following " rules," selected from the exercise book 
of Washington's boyhood, the spelling, capitalization, and 
punctuation have been changed somewhat, to correspond 
with modern usage. The language itself is quaint at times, 
though always plain in its meaning and simple in its con- 
struction : 

1. Reproach none for the infirmities of nature, nor delight 
to put them that have in mind thereof. 

2. Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another, 
though he were your enemy. 

3. Superfluous compliments and all affectation of cere- 
mony are to be avoided, yet where due they are not to be 
neglected. 

4. They that are in dignity or in office have in all places 
precedence ; but whilst they are young they ought to respect 
those that are their equals in birth or other qualities, though 
they have no public charge. 

5. Xet your discourse with men of business be short and 
comprehensive. 

6. In writing or speaking, give to every person his due 
title, according to his degree and the custom of the place. 

7. Do not express joy before one sick or in pain, for that 
contrary passion will aggravate his misery. 

8. Wherein you reprove another, be unblamable yourself ; 
for example is more prevalent than precepts. 

9. Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparage- 
ment of any. 



204 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

10. Eun not in tlie streets, neither go too slowly nor with, 
month open. Go not shaking yonr arms, stamping, or shuf- 
fling; nor pnll np yonr stockings in the street. Walk not 
npon the toes, nor in a dancing or skipping manner, nor yet 
with measured steps. Strike not the heels together, nor 
stoop when there is no occasion. 

11. Eat not in the streets, nor in the house out of 
season. 

12. Associate yourself with men of good quality if you 
esteem your own reputation ; for 'tis better to be alone than 
in bad company. 

13. Let your conversation be without malice or envy, i or 
'tis a sign of a tractable and commendable nature; and in 
all causes of passion, admit reason to govern. 

14. Speak not of doleful things in a time of mirth or at 
the table ; speak not of melancholy things, as death and 
wounds ; and if others mention them, change if you can 
the discourse. Tell not your dreams, but to your intimate 
friend. 

15. A man ought not to value himself of his achievements 
or rare qualities, his riches, titles, virtue, or kindred ; but he 
need not speak meanly of himself. 

16. Speak not injurious words, neither in jest nor earnest. 
Scoff at none, although they give occasion. 

17. Detract not from others, neither be excessive in com- 
mending. 

18. Eeprehend not the imperfections of others, for that 
belongs to parents, masters, and superiors. 

19. G-aze not at the marks or blemishes of others, and 
ask not how they came. What you may speak in secret to 
your friend, deliver not before others. 

20. Speak not in an unknown tongue in company, but in 
your own language. 

21. Think before you speak. Pronounce not imperfectly, 
nor bring out your words too hastily, but orderly and 
distinctly. 



SCHOOL ETIQUETTE 205 

22. When anotlier speaks, be attentive yourself and dis- 
turb not tiie audience. If any hesitate in his words, help 
him not nor prompt him without desired; interrupt him 
not, nor answer him till his speech be ended. 

23. While you are talking, point not with your finger at 
him of whom you discourse, nor approach too near him to 
whom you talk, especially to his face. 

24. Treat with men at fit times about business, and whis- 
per not in the company of others. 

25. Be not apt to relate news if you know not the truth 
thereof. In discoursing of things you have heard, name 
not your author always. A secret discover not (reveal not). 

26. Be not tedious in discourse or in reading, unless you 
find the company pleased therewith. 

27. Be not curious to know the affairs of others, neither 
approach to those that speak in private. 

28. Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be 
careful to keep your promise. 

29. In disputes, be not so desirous to overcome as not to 
give liberty to each one to deliver his opinion ; and submit 
to the judgment of the major part, especially if they are 
judges of the dispute. 

30. Be not tedious in discourse ; make not many digres- 
sions, nor repeat often the same manner of discourse. 

31. Drink not, nor talk, with your mouth full, neither 
gaze about you while you are drinking. 

32. Be not angry at table, whatever happens ; and if you 
have reason to be so, show it not. Put on a cheerful coun- 
tenance, especially if there be strangers; for good humor 
makes one dish of meat a feast. 

33. When you speak of God or His attributes, let it be 
seriously, and with words of reverence. Honor and obey 
your natural parents, although they be poor. 

34. Let your recreations be manful, not sinful. 

35. Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of 
celestial fire called conscience. 



206 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

36. In the presence of others, sing not to yourself with a 
humming noise, nor drum with your fingers or feet. 

37. If you cough, sneeze, sigh, or yawn, do it not loud, 
but privately ; and speak not in your yawning^ but put your 
handkerchief or hand before your face, and turn aside. 

38. Sleep not when others speak; sit not when others 
stand ; speak not when you should hold your peace ; walk 
not when others stop. 

39. When you sit down, keep your feet firm and even, 
without putting one on the other or crossing them. 

40. Eead no letters, books, or papers in company; but 
when there is a necessity for the doing of it, you must ask 
leave. Come not near the books or writings of another so 
as to read them, unless desired, or give your opinion of 
them unasked ; also, look not nigh when another is writing 
a letter. 

41. The gestures of the body must be suited to the dis- 
course you are upon. 



CHAPTER XI 
SCHOOL CELEBRATIONIS AND OBSERVANCES 

General Holidays and School Celebrations. — It is a very 
common saying that Americans, as a people, have too few 
holidays ; that the routine of our lives is not sufficiently 
broken by periodical celebrations and observances of a 
national character. We enter generally and heartily into 
the spirit of Thanksgiving and Independence days, deriving 
much good from them ; and it is claimed that there should 
be more such days in our calendar. Certain State holidays 
have been instituted within recent years, with a view to 
supplying this supposed need. It is difficult for one part of 
a community engaged in business or labor to arrange for a 
holiday unless the observance be general, since the cessation 
of one form of industry is apt to cause serious inconvenience 
to others ; for the activities of the business world are closely 
related one to another. 

The school, however, is not so connected with the indus- 
trial world as to be limited to the observance of general 
holidays and commemorative occasions. In the school, the 
celebration of certain days may involve no real loss to the 
school work, but only a pleasing change in its form. An 
alternation of different forms of labor is always restful, and 
may be very profitable. Often the school celebration affords 
an opportunity for the particular form of training which 
the pupil most needs. The exercises of the celebration or 
observance may be of various length, sometimes taking the 
place of a single recitation, and at other times lasting 
through several class periods. 

207 



208 SCHOOL INTEBJESTS AND DUTIES 

Authors' Birthdays. — The celebration of the birthdays of 
notable American authors by appropriate exercises of a 
special character in the public schools has been of incalcu- 
lable good. Such variations from the routine of the school 
lend a charm of variety to the pupil's work, while (since they 
are easily arranged, and require little time for their prepa- 
ration) they do not seriously interrupt or detract from the 
regularity of study and recitation. The influence of these 
school celebrations is to develop in the pupils a strong spirit 
of patriotism and of nationality, as well as to lead them to a 
better acquaintance with, and a]3preciation of, our literature. 

Such occasions are exceedingly interesting, and have a ten- 
dency to enlist to a greater degree the attention of the com- 
munity to the school work. Generally they attract to the 
schoolroom many who would not otherwise visit it; and 
none can fail to derive new inspiration from them. While 
the most enjoyable and profitable exercises of this character 
are those of the high schools of cities, and of the advanced 
grades in the rural schools, the observance of authors' birth- 
days may be extended, in simpler and briefer form, to the 
lower grades in all schools. Even the smallest pupil will 
be interested in an anecdote relating to a great American. 
No single programme of exercises will prove applicable alike 
to all grades and to all schools. The teacher who- prepares 
the programme for the more advanced grades should arrange 
it for the general participation of his pupils. A few pieces 
of music may be rendered by individual pupils, or by quar- 
tets, but the greater number of songs should be sung by the 
school. A few essa^ys of some length may be pre^^ared, but 
brief recitations or anecdotes should be given by the majority 
of the pupils. 

Presentations of Portraits- — It is desirable that schools be 
supplied with pictures, and portraits of American authors 
are especially appropriate for this purpose. Pictures are 
generally procured for schoolrooms by voluntary contribu- 
tions of money in small amounts. No better occasion for 



SCHOOL CELEBBATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 209 

the addition to the schoolroom of such a treasure can be 
presented than that of the author's birthday. If the portrait 
be procured in advance, its presentation to the school can be 
made a very pretty and graceful incident of the celebration. 
The pupils may select one of their number to make a brief 
address of presentation, and the teacher may respond to it, 
or may appoint some person present (a school officer would 
be a very suitable person for this) to receive the portrait in 
the name of the school. 

The music for such occasions should be national and patri- 
otic; and it is especially appropriate to select any songs 
relating to the author in whose honor the celebration is 
held. 

Suggestions for Longfellow's Birthday. — Among the more 
popular of Longfellow's short poems are TJie Village Black- 
smith, Excelsior, The Arsenal at Springfield, Seaiveed, The 
Day is DonCj The Builders, The Jewish Cemetery at Neiuport, 
The Golden Milestone, The Children's Hour, Robert Burns, 
Paul Revere' s Ride, and The Bells of San Bias. The last- 
mentioned was his last poetical composition. These and 
many others are admirably adapted for school recitations. 

From the longer poems may be taken extracts of some 
length. Brief paragraphs and stanzas may be selected from 
both the long and the short poems of this author for general 
exercises in recitation. Following are a few of these, and 
the number may be easily extended by any teacher. 

Sliips that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, 
Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness ; 
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another, 
Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence. 

— From Elizabeth. 

As torrents in summer, 

Half dried in their channels. 

Suddenly rise, though the 

Sky is still cloudless, 

For rain has been falling 

Far off at their fountains ; 

SCH. INT. & DUT. — 14 



210 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

So hearts that are fainting 
Grow full to o'erflowing, 
And they that behold it 
Marvel, and know not 
That God at their fountains 
Far off has been raining ! 

— From The Saga of King Olaf. 



This is the forest primeval ; but where are the hearts that beneath it 
Leaped.like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the voice of the 

huntsman ? 
Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Acadian farmers, — 
Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the woodlands, 
Darkened, by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven ? 
Waste are those pleasant farms, and the farmers forever departed ! 
Scattered like dust and leaves, when the mighty blasts of October 
Seize them, and whirl them aloft, and sprinkle them far o'er the ocean. 

— From Evangeline. 



But why, you ask me, should this tale be told 

To men grown old, or who are growing old ? 

It is too late ! Ah, nothing is too late 

Till the tired heart shall cease to palpitate. 

Cato learned Greek at eighty ; Soph'ocles 

Wrote his grand OecVijous, and Simon 'ides 

Bore off the prize of verse from his compeers. 

When each had numbered more than fourscore years, 

And Theophras'tus, at fourscore and ten, 

Had but begun his Characters of Men. 

Chaucer, at Woodstock with the nightingales. 

At sixty wrote the Canterbury Tales ; 

Goethe, at Weimar, toiling to the last. 

Completed Faust when eighty years were past. 

These are, indeed, exceptions ; but they show 

How far the gulf -stream of our youth may flow 

Into the arctic regions of our lives. 

Where little else than life itself survives. 

— From 3Ioritu'ri Saluta^mus 
(We who are about to die salute you). 



] 

SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AND OBSEBVANCES 211 \ 

Turn, turn, my wheel ! The human race, 

Of every tongue, of every place, \ 

Caucasian, Coptic, or Malay, ; 

All that inhabit this great earth, : 

Whatever be their rank or worth, ] 

Are kindred and allied by birth, ] 

And made of the same clay. i 

— From Ker^amos. j 

Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven, i 

Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels. ; 

— From Evangeline. \ 

Slowly as out of the heavens, with apocalyptical splendors, ^ 

Sank the City of God, in the vision of John the Apostle, i 
So, with its cloudy walls of chrysolite, jasper, and sapphire. 
Sank the broad red sun, and over its turrets uplifted 

Glimmered the golden reed of the angel who measured the city. \ 

— From The CourtsMxj of Miles Standish. \ 

] 

' ' Thank God, ' ' the Theologian said, ■ ; 

" The reign of violence is dead, : 

Or dying surely from the world ; I 

While love triumphant reigns instead, j 

And in a brighter sky o'erhead " j 

His blessed banners are unfurled. * j 

And most of all thank God for this : | 

The war and waste of clashing creeds 1 
Now end in words, and not in deeds ; 

And no one suffers loss, or bleeds, ; 

For thoughts that men call heresies." \ 

— From Tales of a Wayside Inn. : 

In the elder days of Art, 

Builders wrought with greatest care 

Each minute and unseen part : ■ 

For the gods see everywhere. I 

Let us do our work as well, '; 

Both the unseen and the seen ; '\ 

Make the house, where gods may dwell, ) 

Beautiful, entire, and clean. ^ 
— From The Builders. 



212 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Happy he whom neither wealth nor fashion 
Nor the march of the encroaching city 

Drives an exile 
Erom the hearth of his ancestral homestead. 

We may build more splendid habitations, 

Fill our rooms with paintings and with sculptures ; 

But we cannot 
Buy with gold the old associations. 

— From The Golden Milestone. 

The mighty pyramids of stone 

That wedge-like cleave the desert airs, 

When nearer seen, and better known. 
Are but gigantic flights of stairs. 

The heights by great men reached and kept 

Were not attained by sudden flight, 
But they, while their companions slept, 

Were toiling upward in the night. 

— From The Ladder of St. Augustine. 

A number of Longfellow's poems have been set to mnsic. 
Among these are The Bridge, The Rainy Day, The Old 
Clock on the Stairs, A Psalm of Life, The Reaper and the 
Flowers, and Into the Silent Land. 

Some Notable Birthdays. — The following brief list of the 
birthdays of notable American authors will be found con- 
venient for reference. For the birthday of Hawthorne, 
which occurs at a time when the schools are closed, can 
be substituted some convenient day of the school year : 

January 11, 1825 Bayard Taylor. 

February 22, 1819 James Russell Lowell. 

February 27, 1807 Heniy Wadsworth Longfellow. 

April 3, 1783 ......... Washington Irving. 

April 15, 1814 John Lothrop Motley. 

May 4, 1796 William Hickling Prescott. 

May 25, 1803 ........ Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

June 14, 1812 ........ Harriet Beecher Stowe. 



SCHOOL CELEBBATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 213 

July 4, 1804 Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

August 29, 1809 Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

October 3, 1800 George Bancroft. 

November 3, 1794 William Cullen Bryant. 

November 29, 1832 Louisa M. Alcott. 

December 17, 1807 John Greenleaf Whittier. 

Birthdays of American Statesmen. — The observance of 
birtlidays of noted Americans need not be limited to those of 
authors. In fact, it is highly desirable that some such school 
observances relate to eminent statesmen, especially to those 
who impressed their character and their wisdom upon our 
nation in its formative period. So many are the illustrious 
names of American statesmen, that care must be taken 
to select only the most notable of these. Men now living 
should be excluded from the list. 

The birthday of Washington, the Father of his Country, 
is now a legal holiday in forty-two States. That of Lincoln, 
the Emancipator, has been legalized as such in Illinois. The 
birthday of Webster, the Expounder of the Constitution, has 
been observed in many schools within recent years, and so 
has that of Franklin, the statesman and philosopher. Jeffer- 
son, the author of the Declaration of Independence, is worthy 
of commemoration in like manner. 

The essays prepared for such occasions should be largely 
of an historical character. The salient points of the careers 
of these statesmen should be brought out. These should 
form the topics of separate compositions, in order that the 
subjects may be divided among a number, and select para- 
graphs should be read from notable and appropriate public 
documents. 

Suggestions for Washington's Birthday. — From a variety 
of programmes which have been followed in many schools 
on the occasion of Washington's birthday, the following is 
here reproduced, not as a model to be implicitly followed, 
but as offering suggestions which may be utilized in arrang- 
ing the exercises in a variety of forms : 



214 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 



Programme for Washington's Birthday. 

Song by the school or by a quartet — Columhia, the Gem of 
the Ocean. 

Essay of four minutes — WasMngton's Cliildliood. 

General Exercise — Washington's Rules of Civility. (These, 
being brief, can be distributed among a considerable 
number of pupils, who may rise and repeat them at their 
seats, in the order of numbers drawn by them from a 
basket of number cards.) 

Essay of four minutes — Washington's Military Career. 

Instrumental Music — Yankee Doodle, with Variations. 

Essay of four minutes — Washington as a Statesman. 

General Exercise — Estimates' of Washington's Life and 
Character. (Brief extracts upon this subject from standard 
works, including Byron's tribute in his Ode to Napoleon, and 
paragraphs from the eulogies of orators and the summaries 
of historians and biographers.) 

Instrumental Music — President's March, or song by the 
school — Hail Columhia. 

Select Readings — The Battle of Trenton, and Washington 
at Princeton, from Ford's Poems of History. (For these 
may be substituted any other suitable poems relating to 
Washington's career.) 

Song by the School — The Grave of Washington. 

General Exercise — Selected paragraphs from WasMngton's 
Fareicell Address. 

Song by the School — America. 



Suggestions for Lincoln's Birthday. — For the celebration 
of Lincoln's birthday, the following "leaflets" have been 
used by many schools. They may be supplemented by addi- 
tional selections from the notable utterances of Lincoln. 
The exercises should be interspersed with appropriate music. 



SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 215 



Lincoln Leaflets 



Two tall and beautiful monuments, rising from the soil of 
Illinois, one by the Sangamon river and one by Lake Michi- 
gan, are of special interest to students of American history. 
They mark the last resting places of the two great statesmen 
on whom was centered the attention of America — and in- 
deed of the civilized world — in the years immediately pre- 
ceding the great war. Douglas triumphed over Lincoln in 
1858, and Lincoln triumphed over Douglas in 1860. They 
were personal friends. The issues on which these statesmen 
were arrayed belong wholly to the past. They were squarely 
pTesented and earnestly debated, and were decided, as Amer- 
ican issues must be, by the people. All concede the great- 
ness and the goodness of President Lincoln, and his name 
is far removed from the divisions and questions of to-day. 
Teachers and pupils unite in exercises of affectionate remem- 
brance, and repeat the sentiments with which he touched 
the chords of humanity and spoke to all the future. 

II 

The most remarkable popular debate in American annals, 
and in some respects the most remarkable in all history, was 
that of the Senatorial campaign in Illinois in 1858. The ex- 
cited interest with which it was attended, its protraction 
through many weeks and through widely different localities 
and communities, the rush of many thousands to hear, the 
endless reproduction in the newspapers of every State, 
the comments of the millions who practically constituted 
the audience, the sharply drawn issues, the perfect candor 
of the debaters (who answered each the most searching 
questions of his opponent), the momentous character of the 
conclusions drawn, — all these strange accompaniments ren- 



216 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

dered the Senatorial canvass in reality a canvass before the 
Nation and before the world — a canvass which can be 
likened to no other, and one which predetermined at once 
the choice of the two champions as standard bearers in the 
Presidential canvass of two years later. 

Ill 

Singularly contrasted were the speakers in the Great 
Debate. Proud in the consciousness of his powers, match- 
less in eloquence, small in figure but splendid in the mag- 
netism of his presence, graceful in gesture, cold, self-possessed, 
and lofty in scorn or glowing in the passion of appeal, was 
Judge Douglas, the Little Giant, the Senator of a dozen 
years, the hitherto unchallenged master in the field of con- 
troversy. Opposed to him was the Eail Splitter. Six feet 
three in his stockings, lank and ungainly, unprepossessing 
of visage save in the kindliness of his smile, without art or 
artificial polish, but with earnestness and solemnity born of 
the great crisis^ with honesty of purpose that none in all 
the throng could question, and with homely phrases that 
reached the heart, was Abraham Lincoln, who had dared to 
challenge the Little Giant to a joint discussion. Answering 
to the polished oratory of the Senator were the solemn ear- 
nestness and the quaint and irresistible humor of this man 
of the people. 

IV 

Very remarkable was the political situation in 1858. The 
Democratic party was rent in twain. At the end of one 
faction was the Administration. The leader of the other 
faction was Judge Douglas. Opposed was the young and 
rapidly growing Pepublican party, — the old Whig party had 
gone out of existence. It was thus a three-sided issue, for 
the Eepublicans met their divided opponents with a solid 
front. The positions of the three opposing parties may be 
stated briefly thus : 



SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 217 

It is both tlie right and the duty of Congress to recognize 
the institution of slavery in the Territories. 

— The Administration Faction. 

It is both the right and the duty of Congress to proMMt 
the institution of slavery in all the Territories. 

— The Republican Party. 

It is neither the right nor the duty of Congress to recog- 
nize or to prohibit the institution of slavery in the Terri- 
tories. The matter must be decided by the people of each 
Territory for themselves. — The Douglas Faction. 

In their sentiments the Eepublicans were no less divided 
than the Democrats, though they were united in action. 
"Of strange, discordant, and often hostile elements,'' said 
Mr. Lincoln, "we gathered from the four winds." Senti- 
ments held by members of that party in northern Illinois 
were vehemently repudiated by members in the central and 
southern parts. To unite in action people of opposing 
views was the task set before both debaters. Never was 
presented to public men a greater temptation to equivocate 
and to play a double part ; and yet never was debate con- 
ducted with greater candor on both sides. Perhaps never 
before was the American public so thoroughly instructed 
upon the real character of the issues to be decided. 



The Presidental campaign of 1860 was but a continuation 
of the same debate by the same debaters. To complicate 
matters still further, a fourth party arose, Avhich was non- 
committal as to policy, proclaiming as its platform only 
"the Union, the Constitution, and the enforcement of the 
laws." A popular majority was impossible under the cir- 
cumstances. Mr. Lincoln received a plurality of the popvr- 
lar votes, and a majority of the electoral votes, and was 
elected. 



218 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

VI 

The burden of responsibility borne by President Lincoln, 
the prolonged and terrible war in which he was engaged^ 
the freeing of the slaves, the death of the President in the 
hour of final victory — all these are matters known to all, 
and are personally remembered by very many of the people 
of to-day. President Lincoln's public addresses reveal, 
more perfectly than description can portray, the character 
of that remarkable man who stood at the helm of our ship 
of state through the storm and peril of a gigantic war, of 
that man of whom his conquered foes have unfeignedly 
said, " He was our best friend." 

VII 

^^^ A house divided against itself cannot stand.' I believe 
this government cannot endure permanently half slave and 
half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved, I do 
not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to 
be divided." — Address at Springfield, June 17, 1858. 

VIII 

" My friend has said to me that I am a poor hand to quote 
Scripture. I will try it again, however. It is said in one 
of the admonitions of our Lord, ' As your Father in heaven 
is perfect, be ye also perfect.' The Savior, I suppose, did 
not expect that any human creature could be perfect as the 
Pather in heaven. But he said, ^ As your Pather in heaven 
is perfect, be ye also perfect.' He set that up as a stand- 
ard ; and he who did most towards reaching that standard 
attained the highest degree of moral perfection. So I say 
in relation to the principle that all men are created equal, let 
it be as nearly reached as we can. If we cannot give free- 
dom to every creature, let us do nothing that will impose 
slavery upon any other creature." 

— Address at Chicago, July 10, 1858. 



SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 219 



IX 

'^ Now, it happens that we meet together once every year, 
some time about the 4th of July, for some reason or other. 
These 4th of July gatherings, I suppose, have their uses. 
If you will indulge me, I will state what I suppose to be 
some of them. 

^' We are now a mighty Nation ; we are thirty, or about 
thirty, millions of people, and we own and inhabit about 
one fifteenth j)art of the dry land of the whole earth. We 
run our memory back over the pages of history for about 
eighty-two years, and we discover that we were then a very 
small people in point of numbers, vastly inferior to what we 
are now, with a vastly less extent of country, with vastly 
less of everything we deem desirable among men. We look 
upon the change as exceedingly advantageous to us and to 
our posterity, and we fix upon something that happened 
away back, as in some way or other being connected with 
this rise of prosperity. We find a race of men living in 
that day whom we claim as our fathers and grandfathers. 
They were iron men; they fought for the principle they 
were contending for ; and we understood that by what they 
then did it has followed that the degree of prosperity 
which we now enjoy has come to us. We hold this annual 
celebration to remind ourselves of all the good done in this 
process of time, of how it was done, and who did it, and 
how we are historically connected with it ; and we go from 
these meetings in better humor with ourselves, we feel 
more attached the one to the other, and more firmly bound 
to the country we inhabit. In every way we are better 
men, in the age and race and country in which we live, for 
these celebrations. But, after we have done all this, we 
have not yet reached the whole. There is something else 
connected with it. We have, besides these men — de- 
scended by blood from our ancestors — among us, perhaps 
half our people, who are not descendants at all of these 



220 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

men; they are men who have come from Europe — Ger- 
man, Irish, French, and Scandinavian — men that have 
come from Europe themselves, or whose ancestors have 
come hitherto and settled here, finding themselves our 
equals in all things. If they look back through this his- 
tory to trace their connection with those days by blood, 
they find they have none ; they cannot carry themselves 
back into that glorious epoch and make themselves feel 
that they are part of us. But when they look through that 
old Declaration of Independence, they find that those old 
men say, ' We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all 
men are created equal,' and then they feel that that moral 
sentiment, taught in that day, evidences their relation to 
those men, that it is the father of all moral principle in 
them, and that they have a right to claim it as though they 
were blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh, of the men 
who wrote that Declaration. And so they are. That is 
the electric cord in that Declaration that links the hearts 
of patriotic and liberty-loving men together, that will link 
those patriotic hearts as long as the love of freedom exists 
in the minds of men throughout the world." 

— Address at Chicago, July 10, 1858. 



"1 hold that there is no reason in the world why the 
Negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated 
in the Declaration of Independence — the right to life, lib- 
erty, and the pursuit of happiness. I hold that he is as 
much entitled to these as the white man. I agree with 
Judge Douglas, he is not my equal in many respects ; 
certainly not in color, perhaps not in moral or intellectual 
endowment. But in the right to eat, without the leave of 
anybody else, the bread which his own hand earns, he is 
my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of 
every living man." — The Great Debate; Ottawa, Aug. 21, 1858. 



SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 221 

XI 

"I think tlie authors of that notable instrument (the 
Declaration of Independence) intended to include all men, 
but they did not mean to declare all men equal in all 
respects. They did not mean to say all men were equal in 
color, size, intellect, moral development, or social capacity. 
They defined, with tolerable distinctness, m tvJiat they con- 
sider all men are created equal — equal in certain inalien- 
able rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness. This they said, and this they meant. They 
did not mean to assert the obvious untruth that all were 
then actually enjoying that equality, or that they were about 
to confer it immediately upon them. In fact, they had no 
power to confer such a boon. They meant simply to declare 
the right, so that the enforcement of it might follow as fast 
as circumstances should permit. They meant to set up a 
standard maxim for free society, which should be familiar 
to all; constantly referred to, constantly labored for, and 
even, though never perfectly attained, constantly approxi- 
mated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its 
influence and augmenting the happiness and value of life to 
all people, of all colors, everywhere." 

— The Great Debate ; Alton, Oct. 15, 1858. 

XII 

" A duty devolves upon me which is perhaps greater than 
that which has devolved upon any other man since the days 
of Washington. He never could have succeeded except for 
the aid of Divine Providence, upon which he at all times re- 
lied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Divine 
aid which sustained him ; and on the same Almighty Being 
I place my reliance for support. And I hope that you, my 
friends, will all pray that I may receive that Divine assis- 
tance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which suc- 
cess is certain." —i^arewjeZZ Speech at Springfield, Feb, 11, 1861. 



222 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

XIII 

"I am but an accidental instrument, temporary and to 
serve for a limited time ; and I appeal to you to constantly 
bear in mind that with you, and not with politicians, nor 
with Presidents, nor with office seekers, but with you is the 
question, ^ Shall the Union and shall the liberties of this 
country be preserved to the latest generations ? ' " 

— Bates House Speech at Indianapolis^ Feb. 11, 1861. 

XIV 

" I have often inquired of myself what great principle or 
idea it was that kept this Confederacy so long together. It 
was not the mere matter of the separation of the colonies 
from the motherland, but that sentiment in the Declaration 
of Independence which gave liberty not alone to the people 
of this country, but, I hope, to the world for all future time. 
It was that which gave promise that in due time the weight 
would be lifted from the shoulders of all men. This is the 
sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence. 
Now, my friends, can the country be saved upon that basis ? 
If it can, I will consider myself the happiest man in the 
world if I can help to save it. If it cannot be saved upon 
that principle, it will be truly awful. But if this country 
cannot be saved without giving up that principle, I was 
about to say that I would rather be assassinated on this 
spot than surrender it." 

— Address at Independence Hall, FJiiladelphia, Feb. 21, 1861. 

XV 

"Why should there not be a patient confidence in the 
ultimate justice of the people ? Is there any better or equal 
hope in the world? In our present differences is either 
party without faith of being in the right ? If the Almighty 
Ruler of Nations, with His eternal truth and justice, be on 



SCHOOL CELEBBATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 223 

your side of the North or on yours of the South, that truth 
and that justice will surely prevail, by the judgment of this 
great tribunal of the American people." 

— First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861. 

XVI 

"In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and 
not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The 
government will not assail you. You can have no conflict 
without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath 
registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I 
have the most solemn one to ' preserve, protect, and defend ' 
it. I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. 
We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, 
it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords 
of memory, stretching from every battle field and patriot 
grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this 
broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when 
again touched, as surely they will be, by the angels of our 
better nature.'' — First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861. 

XVII 

"Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the 
United States, by virtue of the power vested in me as Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States 
in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and 
government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary 
war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first 
day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose 
to do so proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, 
from the first day above mentioned, order and designate as 
the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof 
are respectively this day in rebellion against the United 
States, the following, etc. 



224 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

" And by virtue of tlie power and for tlie purpose afore- 
said, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves 
within said designated States and parts of States are, and 
henceforward shall be, free ; and that the Executive Govern- 
ment of the United States, including the military and naval 
authorities thereof, Avill recognize and maintain the freedom 
of said persons. . . . 

"And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of 
justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military neces- 
sity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the 
favor of Almighty God." 

— Proclamation of Emancipation, Jan. 1, 1863. 

XVIII 

" The world will little note nor long remember what we 
say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is 
for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfin- 
ished work they have thus far nobly carried on. It is rather 
for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before 
us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion 
to the cause for which they gave the last full measure of 
devotion ; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall 
not have died in vain ; that the Nation shall, under God, have 
a new birth of freedom ; and that government of the people, 
by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from 
the earth." — Gettysburg Cemetenj Dedication^ Nov. 19, 1864. 

XIX 

" With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firm- 
ness to do the right as God gives us to see the right, let us 
strive to finish the great work we are in, to bind up the 
Nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the 
battle and for his widow and his orphans ; to do all which 
may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace among 
ourselves and with all nations." 

— Second Inaugural Address^ March 4, 1865. 



SCHOOL CELEBBATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 225 



XX 



TOM TAYLOR S TRIBUTE TO LINCOLN 



You lay a wreath, on murdered Lincoln's bier, 
You, who with mocking pencil wont to trace, 

Broad for the self-complacent British sneer. 

His length of shambling limb, his furrowed face, 

His gaunt, gnarled hands, his unkempt, bristling hair. 
His garb uncouth, his bearing ill at ease. 

His lack of all we prize as debonair. 

Of power or will to shine, of art to please ; 

You, whose smart pen. backed up the pencil's laugh. 
Judging each, step as though the Avay were plain, 

Reckless, so it could point its paragraph 
Of chief's perplexity, or people's pain. 

Beside this corpse, that bears for winding sheet 
The stars and stripes he lived to rear aqew. 

Between the mourners at his head and feet. 
Say, scurrile jester, is there room for you? 

Yes : he had lived to shame me from my sneer, 
To lame my pencil, and confute my peru; 

To make me own this hind of princes peer, 
This rail splitter a true-born king of men. 



1 It is a remarkable fact that this noble poetical tribute to Lincoln 
was composed in a foreign land, and was published in a comic paper. 
Tom Taylor, of the London Punch, had made the great President a 
target for his shafts of ridicule, and had poured forth an unceasing stream 
of sarcastic detraction in prose, in verse, and in pictorial caricature. 
When the end came, this famous jester laid aside his fun and, rising 
to the dignity of the occasion, laid this immortal wreath on murdered 
Lincoln's bier. 

SCH. IKT. & DUT. — 15 



226 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES \ 

My shallow judgment I had learned to rue, ; 

Noting how to occasion's height he rose ; i 

How his quaint wit made home truth seem more true ; j 

Howj iron-like, his temper grew by blows. i 

] 

How humble, yet hov/ hopeful, he could be ; . \ 

How, in good fortune and in ill, the same ; J 

Nor bitter in success, nor boastful he, j 

Thirsty for gold, nor feverish for fame. \ 

\ 

He went about his work — such work as few 1 

Ever had laid on head and heart and hand — ] 

As one who knows, where there's a task to do, ; 
Man's honest will must Heaven's good grace command ; ; 

Who trusts the strength will with the burden grow, \ 
That God makes instruments to work his will. 

If but that will we can arrive to know, 

Nor tamper with the weights of good and ill. 

So he went forth to battle, on the side i 

That he felt clear was Liberty's and Eight's, • 

As in his peasant boyhood he had plied ' 

His warfare with rude Nature's thwarting mights ; j 

The uncleared forest, the unbroken soil. 

The iron bark, that turns the lumberer's axe, i 

The rapid, that o'erbears the boatman's toil, j 

The prairie, hiding the mazed wanderer's tracks, \ 

\ 

The ambushed Indian, and the x^rowling bear, — \ 

Such were the deeds that helped his youth to train: i 

Eough culture, but such trees large fruit may bear, j 

If but their stocks be of i;ight girth and grain. \ 



SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AND OBSEBVANCES 227 ' 

So he grew up, a destined work to do, i 

And lived to do it ; four long-suffering years, j 

111 fate, ill feeling, ill report, lived through, \ 

And then he heard the hisses change to cheers, i 

1 

! 

The taunts to tribute, the abuse to praise, ■ 

And took both with the same unwavering mood ; i 

Till, as he came on light, from darkling days, ] 

And seemed to touch the goal from where he stood, : 

I 

A felon hand, between the goal and him, ; 

Eeached from behind his back, a trigger prest, i 

And those perplexed and patient eyes were dim, I 

Those gaunt, long-laboring limbs were laid to rest ! ; 

The words of mercy were upon his lips, '! 

Forgiveness in his heart and on his pen, ; 

When this vile murderer brought swift eclipse | 

To thoughts of peace on earth, good will to men. j 

The Old World and the New, from sea to sea, i 

Utter one voice of sympathy and shame : i 

Sore heart, so stopped when it at last beat high ; J 

Sad life, cut short just as its triumph came ! \ 



A deed accurst ! Strokes have been struck before 
By the assassin's hand, whereof men doubt 

If more of horror or disgrace they bore ; 

But thy foul crime, like Cain's, stands darkly out. 

Vile hand, that brandest murder on a strife, 
What'er its grounds, stoutly and nobly striven ; 

And with the martyr's crown crownest a life 
With much to praise, little to be forgiven. 



228 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Other Notable Birthdays. — Less formal and extended 
notice may be taken of tlie birthdays of other eminent states- 
men. Since there is a risk of loss to the regular work of 
the school from too frequent and formal exercises of a com- 
memorative character, it is best to attempt in any one year 
the observance of but a few such days. 

Where a general participation by the school is not found 
desirable, classes in history may profitably mark by special 
studies and recitations the birthday of Henry Clay, the great 
Pacificator ; of Jackson, who boldly met the issue of Nullifi- 
cation ; of Monroe, who promulgated the " Monroe Doctrine ",; 
of John Quincy Adams, who maintained in Congress the 
Eight of Petition; of Garfield, the statesman and scholar, 
and of others. 

In the following brief list, which will be found convenient 
for reference, are given the dates of birth of some of the 
leading statesmen of America : 

January 6, 1811 Charles Sumner. 

January 11, 1757 . , - Alexander Hamilton. 

January 17, 1706 Benjamin Franklin. 

January 18, 1782 Daniel Webster. 

February 12, 1809 Abraham Lincoln. 

February 22, 1732 George Washington. 

March 15, 1767 Andrew Jackson. 

March 16, 1751 James Madison. 

April 2, 1743 ... Thomas Jefferson. 

April 12, 1777 , Henry Clay. 

April 27, 1822 Ulysses S. Grant. 

April 28, 1758 . . , . James Monroe. 

July 11, 1767 John Quincy Adams. 

November 19, 1831 James A. Garfield. 

School Flags and Flag Days. — The use of school flags is 
growing in popularity. It is the boast of many counties in 
various States that all or nearly all the schools which they 
contain are supplied with this beautiful emblem of our 
country. 

The judicious use of the flag can be made very interesting 



SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 229 

to tlie j)upils, impressing upon their minds the significance, 
of great events in the history of our nation and race. It 
has been the thought of some teachers to have flags displayed 
over their schoolhouses while the schools are in session, 
irrespective of any special significance of the day as an 
anniversary. Many prefer to disj^lay the flag only on days 
important because of their association with historical events. 
This will impress those events more strongly upon the mind 
of the pu]piL 

Plags are of all sizes and of various prices, and there is 
no community that cannot afford a flag of some sort for the 
use of its school. As an emblem of the nation's authority 
and power, the flag should be treated with respect under all 
circumstances. It may be committed to the custody of com- 
petent and faithful pupils. The honor of being a flagman 
in a school or a color-bearer in a procession is one which 
should be sought by the pupils and earned by meritorious 
conduct. The flag should be raised and lowered at regular 
and stated hours; it should not be exposed to inclement 
weather, nor should it be left flying at night. 

Suggestions for Flag Presentation Day, — Everything re- 
lating to the history of the flag is of interest .to Americans ; 
and a very interesting programme of exercises can be ar- 
ranged for the occasion of the presentation of the flag to the 
school, and for its first unfurling to the view of the school 
and the community From the time when the flag is ac- 
cepted, the observance of flag days may enter into the exer- 
cises of the school to a greater or less extent, as circumstances 
may suggest or permit. If there be little time for any 
extended notice of the anniversary celebrated by the hoisting 
of the flag, there can be, at least, a brief reference to it by 
the teacher in his morning exercises, and the pupils can be 
encouraged to read about the event commemorated and its 
significance in history. Often, however, there will be found 
time for the reading of some suitable poem and the singing 
of some patriotic song in honor of the day. 



230 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

In a programme for the first flag celebration the banner 
itself will naturally be the principal theme. The history of 
the flag may be divided into a number of parts, to serve as 
topics for brief essays. Poems and songs relating to the 
flag may be rendered, each being introduced by a brief state- 
ment in reference to the author, and perhaps also to the 
circumstances under which the composition was written. 
The address on the presentation of the flag to the school 
should be well prepared, and spoken rather than read. Some- 
times the presentation is made by a patriotic society, or by 
individuals not connected with the school. In any case, the 
event is likely to be long remembered, and the opportunity 
should be improved by a suitable expression of appreciation 
of the present. 

What constitutes an American Flag. — It may seem a singu- 
lar fact that there is no authoritative specification of the 
proportions of the American flag. There must be thirteen 
alternating stripes of red and white, with a "quartering" 
of blue containing a white star for each State of the Union. 
The " quartering " implies simply that the blue field shall 
occupy a space in the upper inner corner. The flag should be 
at least one half longer than its breadth measures. Generally 
its length ig somewhat more than this. 

The Significance of the Colors. — Eed, which is designated 
as gules by heralds, is employed in their art to typify courage 
and strength. White, or argent, as it is sometimes desig- 
nated, symbolizes purity and innocence. It represents silver, 
and in pictures of flags the silver itself is sometimes used 
for the stars and for six of the stripes. Blue is the symbol 
of truth, constancy, and sincerity. 

Material of the Flag. — Flags are made of various materials. 
Sometimes these are elaborated with great elegance, and 
costly silks are used, with braid and fringe of gold and silver. 
The favorite material for large flags is bunting, a light, 
loosely-woven woolen fabric which will not crease by folding, 
and which floats gracefully on the air. 



SCHOOL CELEBBATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 231 

The American Shield. — Akin to the flag is the shield of 
the national colors, which may be used with fine effect in 
the decoration of the schoolroom, either as a joining of 
evergreen festoons upon the walls, or independently as a 
wall ornament to be placed between or above the doors 
and windows. The shield may be of various shape. The 
upper part is blue, and contains the stars, while the lower 
portion is occupied with alternating perpendicular stripes of 
red and white. 

All are familiar with the national shield. Generally this 
is represented as borne, or " supported," by an eagle, which 
flies with outstretched wings, bearing in one of its talons a 
bundle of arrows and in the other the olive of peace, while 
in its bill is held a scroll with the motto E Plurihus Unum 
(Out of the many, the one). The invention of this striking 
device was a remarkable departure from precedent in her- 
aldry, since in all previous devices of like character the 
"supporters" of the shields — whether figures of men or of 
beasts — were represented as resting upon the earth. 

Shields can be easily constructed of pasteboard, and cov- 
ered with paper stripes, field, and stars. Silver paper may 
be used in lieu of white, if preferred. 

Care of the Flag. — A well-made flag of good materials 
will last a long time, if properly cared for. A canvas case, 
in which to inclose it when it is not in use, is generally 
desirable. The flag should not be laid away when damp. 
If lent for any purpose, its prompt return should be insured. 
In the proper care of this beautiful symbol, the pupil will 
learn a lesson of responsibility and trust. 

The Origin of the Flag. — Early in the Eevolutionary 
War, the Americans used a yellow flag, on which was 
painted a rattlesnake, coiled for springing, together with 
the warning words, "Don't tread on me." The flag dis- 
played by the Americans at Bunker Hill was blue, quartered 
with a white field, which contained a red cross and the 
picture of a pine tree. 



232 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

On the 14tli of June, 1777, the American Congress pro- 
vided that the flag of the United States should consist of 
thirteen stripes, alternately red and white, with thirteen 
white stars in a blue field, representing a new constel- 
lation. 

In 1794 the number of stripes was increased to fifteen; 
and two more stars were added, in order that these might 
correspond in number to the States of the Union. It became 
apparent, however, that many new States would be added to 
the Nation, and that the plan of providing an additional 
stripe for each would result in making the flag too wide or 
the stripes too narrow. 

In 1818 the Government adopted the present plan, which 
is to have the original thirteen stripes, with a star for every 
State in the Union. This flag was first unfurled on the 
Fourth of July, in the same year. The number of stars is 
now forty-four. In the war for the Union, the Federal 
Government did not recognize the secession of any State as 
legal, and no star was erased from its banner. 

Music and Literature Relating to the Flag — It is an 
interesting fact that the well-known song. The Star Spangled 
Banner, was composed, at least in part, in the midst of a 
furious battle, and on a ship of the enemy. When the 
British bombarded Fort McHenry, on the Chesapeake, near 
Baltimore, in 1814, Francis S. Key, a young American, was 
held a prisoner on board the man-of-war that was seeking to 
destroy the defenses of the city. He was exposed to death 
from the guns of his own friends, yet he was most solicitous 
to see the Americans succeed. Amid the furious cannonad- 
ing he watched anxiously through the night, to note at every 
flash of light whether the flag was still flying over the fort, 
or whether it was lowered as a signal of surrender. 

"And the rocket's red glare, 
The bombs bursting in air, 
Gave proof, through the night, 
That our flag was still there." 



SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 233 

All can appreciate the thrilling interest with which, 
throughout the hours of darkness, he asked himself the 
question : 

" Oh, say, does the star spangled banner yet wave ? " 

There are many beautiful and popular songs which relate 
to our national emblem. Among these are The Bed, White, 
and Blue; Our Bright Starry Banner ; Hoio it Marches, the 
Flag of the Union; Our Banner Bright ; Our Flag is Here ; 
Flag of the Heroes; Rally Round the Flag ; Hoist up the 
Flag ; Fling Out the Banner, etc. 

One of the most stirring of all the poems relating to our 
national ensign is The American Flag, by Joseph Eodman 
Drake. Its author, a citizen of New York, died in 1820, at 
the early age of twenty-five. This was the young patriot's 
last poem, and was written when he was stricken with mortal 
illness. It begins thus : 

" When Ereedom from her mountam height 
Unfurled her standard to the air, 
She tore the azure robe of night, 
And set the stars of glory there. 
She mingled with its gorgeous dyes 
The milky baldric of the skies. 
And striped its pure, celestial white 
With streakings of the morning light ; 
Then, from his mansion in the sun 
She called her eagle bearer down. 
And gave into his mighty hand 
The symbol of her chosen land." 

Perhaps the most striking of all the notable utterances of 
our greatest orator, Daniel Webster, is the following, which 
is taken from a speech delivered by him in the Senate, 
January 26, ^. 830, and which is familiar to all Americans : 

" When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the last time 
the sun in heaven, may they not see him shining on the 
broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious Union ; 



234 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

on States dissevered, discordant, belligerent ; on a land rent 
with, civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood. 
Let tlieir last, feeble, and lingering glance rather behold the 
gorgeous ensign of the Eepublic, now known and honored 
throughout the earth, still full-high advanced ; its arms and 
trox^hies streaming in all their original luster, not a stripe 
erased or polluted, not a single star obscured ; bearing for 
its motto no such miserable interrogatory as 'What is all 
this worth ? ' nor those other words of delusion and folly, 
' Liberty first, and Union afterwards ' ; but everywhere, 
spread all over in characters of living light and blazing on 
all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the 
land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that other 
sentiment dear to every true American heart, — ^Liberty 
and Union, — now and forever, — one and inseparable.' " 

Appropriate Flag Days. — The number of historic days to 
be observed by the unfurling of the flag should depend 
somewhat upon the advancement of the pupils, and upon 
other considerations relating to the school. The following 
suggestive list of suitable flag days can be extended indefi- 
nitely by the teacher : 

January 1, 1863. The proclamation of emancipation issued by 

President Lincoln. 
January 8, 1815. The battle of New Orleans. 

February 2, 1848. The treaty of peace with Mexico, by which the 
territory of the United States was greatly 
enlarged. 
February 23, 1847. The victory of General Taylor at Buena Vista. 
February 24, 1779. The surrender of Fort Sackville, at Vincennes, 
to Col. George Rogers Clarke, which secured 
to the United States the region of the North- 
west Territory. 
March 4. Inauguration Day. 
April 19, 1775. The battle of Lexington. 
April 30, 1789. George Washington inaugurated first President 

of the United States. 
May 13, 1607. The founding of Jamestown. 



SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 235 

May 20, 1775. The Mecklenburg (N.C.) Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. 
May 30. Memorial Day. The decoration of soldiers' 
graves. 
June 15, 1215. Magna Charta (Kar'ta), the great charter of 
liberty of the Anglo-Saxon race, signed by 
King John of England. 
July 4, 1776. The signing of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. 
September 3, 1783. The Eevolutionary War ended by the treaty of 
Paris, which recognized American indepen- 
dence. 
September 10, 1813. Perry's victory on Lake Erie. 
September 16, 1847. The City of Mexico occupied by the American 
army under General Scott. 
October 12, 1492. Columbus landed at San Salvador. 
November 25, 1783. The British evacuated New York. 
December 10, 1832. Jackson's proclamation against nullification. 

Other School Celebrations. — Of the various forms of school 
celebrations, Arbor Day has been treated elsewhere in this 
volume, and suggestions have been made in reference to 
Commencement Day. Library Day has been instituted in 
many schools, and contributions have been made by pupils, 
and by patrons present, for the purchase of library books. 
Suitable exercises of a literary character form the basis of 
the programmes on such occasions. It may be well to have 
these relate in some way to the specific books to be pur- 
chased, and to their authors, if the choice of books has been 
made. 

General Holidays. — In addition to the distinctively scJiool 
entertainments which have been discussed in this chapter, 
should be considered the general holidays which the pupils 
share with the community, either as individuals, or col- 
lectively as a school. Sometimes on public occasions a class, 
a grade, or the entire school may be assigned some specific 
and interesting part in the exercises. In such cases, teachers 
and pupils alike feel responsible for a creditable perform- 
ance of the part assigned. Sometimes the pupils of a school 



236 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

visit local fairs or exhibitions in a body, and under the 
supervision of the teachers in charge. Sometimes they are 
called to march in procession on occasions of public sorrow 
or of public rejoicing. At such times the behavior of the 
pui3ils is felt to be a credit to the school if order and pro- 
priety be maintained, and a cause of just criticism to the 
school if these be violated. The influence of the school 
should be felt without the schoolroom, and made apparent 
in the public test to which it is subjected upon all such 
occasions. 



VII 

THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE 



CHAPTER XII 
THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE i 

The Function of the Institute. — We must assume that our 
public school service is to be administered, in great part, by 
young men and women who have made no previous study of 
the teaching art ; and one of the great educational problems 
of the day is how to promote the professional education of 
teachers who have entered the public school service with 
but little or no preparatory training. 

I think we may say at the outset that the function of the 
normal school is to take in hand the training of professional 
teachers ; whereas, the distinctive function of the Institute 
is to provide some training for non-professional teachers. 
Those who frequent our normal schools, as a rule, do so 
with the deliberate intent of making teaching a vocation for 
a shorter or a longer period; and, at the time when they 
actually enter upon their duties, they have already learned 
more or less of their art. The Institute, on the other hand, 
assumes that very many who are actually teaching, or who 
propose to teach, have never received a normal school train- 
ing ; and so its special function is to supplement the normal 
school — to do a little of the work that it should have done, 
but which it did not have the opportunity of doing. 

Military life furnishes an illustration of the distinctive 
functions of the normal school and the Institute. The pro- 
fessional soldier is educated at West Point ; but the exigen- 
cies of the country sometimes require the services of large 



1 From Payne's Contributions to the Science of Education. 
239 



240 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

numbers of non-professional soldiers. These volunteers are 
usually trained for a few days before tbey see actual service. 
In camps of instruction tliey are taught the elements of 
military tactics, while their training is extended and per- 
fected by active service in the field. 

And so we may define an Institute as a normal school with 
a very short course of study ; and we may state its general 
purpose to be, first, to instruct the prospective, but non- 
professional, teacher in the elements of his art, and thus to 
give some extension to his knowledge and skill. In this 
statement I have sought to indicate the primary and main 
purpose of the Institute. I do not forget that a secondary 
purpose should be to stimulate and assist teachers who are 
further advanced in the theory and practice of their art. 

Now, for the sake of clearness, let us inquire what knowl- 
edge is needed in order to enter upon the work of teaching 
with fair hopes of success; what are the elements of pro- 
fessional knowledge ; and what part of this work the lim- 
itations of the Institute will permit it to undertake. 

The First Requisite of the Teacher. — 1. It is plain that 
the very first requisite is a competent knowledge of sub- 
jects. The teacher must know how to read, spell, and 
write, and must have some knowledge of arithmetic, gram- 
mar, and geography, as the necessary condition of assisting 
others in the attainment of this knowledge. It is necessary 
to insist on this requirement, for two reasons : (1) The doc- 
trine is beginning to prevail that teacher and pupil should 
move on the same plane, both should be tyros and learners, 
and that the chief point of superiority on the part of the 
teacher is his greater mental alertness and persistence. Of 
course, absolutely speaking, the teacher should be a learner ; 
but, relatively, he should be learned. In geography, for 
example, his scholarship should not be simply a thing in 
progress, but a fact accomplished. In the work of the 
school, teacher and pupil are not coordinate elements. 
And (2) in our day there is such insistence on method, 



THE TE AGREES' INSTITUTE 241 

as distiiiguislied from seholarsliip, tliat we are in danger 
of underestimating the importance of high, scliolastic at- 
tainments. In the earlier day scliolarsMp was everything, 
method ahnost nothing; and the natural recoil from this 
error has induced an exaggerated belief in method as some 
substitute for scholarship. I think it cannot be too much 
insisted on that a school of a given grade should have for 
its teacher one who has been educated in a school of a 
higher grade. 

The Second Requisite. — After scholarship, the thing of 
next importance is method. Two teachers of equal attain- 
ments may stand to each other in real force as ten to one, 
the difference being due to high and low qualities of method. 
I use this term to cover all the processes of the schoolroom, 
— organization, government, and instruction. Many have 
not observed the fact that improvement in methods of teach- 
ing has been as real, and, perhaps, as rapid, as improvement 
in the processes of agriculture or of manufacture. There is 
scarcely a greater difference between gathering grain with a 
cradle and with a reaper than between the alphabetic and 
the word method. There is not a single method in school- 
room practice that has not suffered marked revision and 
improvement within the last twenty-five years. Now, what 
the Institute is to insist on is, that all teachers under train- 
ing shall be taught the very best current method of doing 
the various work of the school. 

The Teacher's "Conversion." — So far we have been deal- 
ing with the matter and the method of the teacher's outfit ; 
the body, so to speak, of his professional self. But this 
body must be animated and inspired by a spirit. I am now 
speaking of something that cannot be articulately described, 
but of something of which we are all conscious when we 
think of a real teacher and his work. Grant to the painter 
his palette, his brushes, his paints, and the formal rules of 
his art ; but, with only these things, he is merely a mechanic. 
What will transform this mechanic into an artist? Fair 

SCH. INT. & DUT. 16 



242 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 1 

ideals, a divine sense of beauty, and a conception of tlie j 
possibilities of art. It is only under the domination of this , 
spirit that the artist becomes a creator. Now, what I wish '■. 
to say is that, by some means, a spirit akin to this must be j 
infused into a body of scholars, in order that they may be- j 
come teachers. There must be some ideal to serve as the , 
goal of one's effort, some sense of the sacredness and ; 
grandeur of the teaching ofS.ce, and a conception of what ■ 
is possible through the resources of the teacher's art. This i 
change of spirit and of purpose is so marked that, some- ' 
times, in speaking of it, I have ventured to call it corir I 
version. \ 

On more than one occasion I have seen a change of conn- ! 
tenance pass over an assembly of teachers as the speaker \ 
succeeded in causing his hearers to catch a glimpse of the ; 
real nature and the possibilities of the educating art. He \ 
who has once ascended a mountain, and thence has surveyed ' 
the landscape below, is forever after a changed man. In \ 
some real way, but, of course, in a way that cannot be ; 
described, so far as s]Dirit is concerned, there has been a ; 
transformation, almost a transfiguration. So teachers may ! 
be made to survey their work from the summit of a lofty . 
conception ; and then, forever after, this work will be done i 
in a new spirit, under a kind of inspiration. \ 

Matter, method, and spirit — these are the three things \ 
without, which no work in teaching, even of tolerable excel- , 
lence, can be done. They must accompany all true teaching ; ; 
and while they form the minimum of one's professional | 
preparation, they are the permanent endowments of the most • 
accomplished teacher. Other elements may be added, but * 
these are constants. i 

Instrumental and Professional Knowledge, — General knowl- ; 
edge must be regarded by the teacher as instrumental or i 
technical. It is necessary material that he must employ 1 
in the practice of his art. But with respect to general \ 
scholarship, the teacher cannot be distinguished from the ■ 



THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE 243 

well-educated man or woman in general; so that wliile a 
knowledge of subjects is to the teacher instrumental knowl- 
edge, it is not, with strict propriety, professional knowledge. 
Perhaps we must call it quasi professional ; though, consider- 
ing the practical necessities of the case, instruction in subjects 
must be regarded as a necessary function of the normal 
school. What is that knowledge, then, which differentiates 
the teacher from the scholar — which is, with strict pro- 
priety, professional knowledge ? Method, as described in 
the last section, is certainly entitled to this designation, but 
on the ground that it is peculiar knowledge that no one but 
a teacher must necessarily have. On still higher ground, 
select portions of psychology are entitled to this designation, 
for it is chiefly this knowledge that can serve as the rational 
basis of method. As Mr. Bain says, " The largest chapter in 
the science of education is psychologicaV^ 

Psychology, in fact, stands in the same relation to teaching 
that anatomy does to medicine. The teacher's art is addressed 
to mind ; and if this art is to be rational, if it is to be adminis- 
tered in the scientific or the professional spirit — for these are 
usually identical — the teacher should know much of the 
philosophy of mind. We must hold, I think, that there 
is as good a reason why a professional teacher should have 
an articulate knowledge of psychology as there is why a 
physician should have such a knowledge of physiology. 
That Professor H , for example, should know the inter- 
dependence of sensation, perception, imagination, memory, 

and judgment, is just as essential as that Doctor Y 

should know the interdependence of lungs, stomach, liver, 
and brain. There is much of psychology that is merely 
curious or of general interest, having but very remote and 
indirect bearings upon the practice of the teacher's art ; but 
there is other matter, of much smaller volume, that is vitally 
and constantly related to every process of instruction. Some 
of this knowledge should certainly be communicated to 
teachers through the agency of the Institute. I hear it said 



244 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

on all hands that the ordinary teacher is not capable of these 
high attainments ; but whoever will rightly apportion this 
knowledge, and deftly present it, will discover a growing 
number of teachers addicted to serious thinking. All admit 
that teachers ought to possess knowledge of this sort, but 
many are so sceptical of success in trying to communicate it 
that they abandon the project as hopeless. But, as the sage 
of the Tribune was wont to say, " the only way to resume is 
to resume." To create an a|)petite for this kind of knowledge 
we must in due season and in right measure allow toothsome 
morsels to fall in the way of those who will have an awak- 
ened intellectual appetite. 

A Knowledge oi Educational Values. — Another kind of 
knowledge, even more distinctly professional, because falling 
much further out of the range and the needs of the ordinary 
student, is what Mr. 13ain calls ^^ education values." What 
is the practical value, say, of arithmetic ? Is this value of 
the primary order, so that every one must study the subject; 
or is it of secondary value chiefly, so that the knowledge of 
a few can be sold, and so made to suffice for the needs of the 
many? As a discipline, is it specific in its effect, i.e. does 
it raise the quality of some special mode of mental action ; 
or is it tonic, i.e. does it minister to a general invigoration of 
the intellectual system? Such questions may be asked of 
every study; and I hold that it is as reasonable that pro- 
fessional teachers should know these things, as that physi- 
cians should knoAv the therapeutical value of calomel and 
quinine. At least one distinction should be made clear to 
all who teach — that between the practical value of a sub- 
ject, and its value for discipline or culture. The subordinate 
distinctions I have indicated are of very great value, but it 
is scarcely reasonable to expect that teachers unaccustomed 
to severe thinking shall understand them sufficiently well to 
make a sure and safe use of them. The general spirit of 
the truths I woidd impress in what has preceded may be 
expressed in brief, as follows : 



THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE 245 

The Lines of Study for Teachers. — Teacliers slioulcl be 
assisted in tlie work of perfecting themselves for tlie duties 
of their office by being stimulated to self-activity along 
three main lines of study : 

(1) Their knowledge of subjects should be gradually 
extended. Arithmetic should lead up to algebra and geome- 
try; geography, to travels, history, and political economy; 
grammar, to rhetoric and criticism; Latin, to French and 
Italian, etc. 

(2) There should be a steady advance in professional 
knowledge, strictly so-called. In addition to the algebra, 
the chemistry, and the French grammar, there should be 
on the teacher's study table a representative educational 
journal, and the best current books on the theory, the 
history, and the art of teaching. 

(3) To counteract the narrowing tendencies of professional 
study and duties, it is necessary that the teacher should court 
the catholic influences of general literature ; and, in addition 
to the books first suggested, his study table should be graced 
with a rex^resentative literary magazine, and with an occa- 
sional volume of essays, poetry, or fictiom The aim I have 
in view is to make the teacher a reader and -a thinker, to 
liberalize his mind with various knowledge, and to secure to 
him some measure of genuine culture. Taking the teaching 
class as a whole, I do not know what greater good can be 
done to it than to inspire it with a love of the scholarly 
vocation. 

In what has now been said, I have tried to express my 
conception of the aid that should be rendered the great mass 
of those who are engaged in the public school service. The 
greater number of these have received no preparatory train- 
ing of the professional type. In many cases there is great 
deficiency in general scholarship. In only a few cases, com- 
paratively, is there a confirmed taste for intellectual pur- 
suits; and in still fewer cases is there any degree of that 
real, though indefinable, thing we call culture. This work^ 



246 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

if clone at all, or at least if clone directly, surely, and method- 
ically, must be done in part through the agency of the 
Institute; and we must now study the limitations of this 
agency, the better to define its special aim and method. 

The Limitations of the Teachers' Institute. — The most 
obvious of these limitations is that of time. The course of 
instruction in a normal school covers a period of three or 
four years; but the Institute must do its work within a 
period of one, two, three, or four weeks. The customary 
period is one week, or five working days. Erom this cir- 
cumstance it becomes apparent at once that a choice must 
be made between extension and depth. If much is under- 
taken it must be done superficially; or if thoroughness is 
the rule, the attention must be limited to a few subjects. 
This limitation of time affects the method of the Institute 
with like precision. If class-work be the rule, then the 
subjects taught will be few, and the progress in each will be 
slow. If instruction be given by lecture, the range of topics 
will be greater, and progress apparently more rapid; but 
the intensive effect will be proportionately light. The whole 
question of method is reduced in general terms to this : Shall 
the instructor teach, or shall he lecture ? That is, shall he 
cause his pupils to know, or shall he merely permit them to 
know? I do not propose to answer this question at this 
point. Indeed, it cannot be answered till other conditions 
have been taken into account. 

Another limitation to which the Institute is subject is the 
unequal proficiency of its membership. I am usually forced 
to distinguish three classes of attendants: the interested, 
well-informed, and appreciative few, who can interpret and 
appropriate the best that can be said ; the attentive and will- 
ing, but comparatively uninstructed and incapable listener, 
who, at best, can appropriate only imperfectly, and, in con- 
sequence, is always on the verge of weariness and inatten- 
tion ; and the ignorant and the indifferent, who hang like a 
dead weight on the spirit of the instructor. A skillful 



THE TEACHEBS' INSTITUTE 247 

instructor miglit manage each of tliese three classes with 
success if it could be isolated ; but to instruct them simul- 
taneously, and with profit, is as difficult a task as can be 
imagined. 

What the Institute is not. — jS"ow, recalling the limitation 
of time, it must be evident, I think, that the Institute 
cannot undertake the instruction of teachers in subjects — 
it cannot give them the matter of instruction. A teacher 
who comes to the Institute ignorant of geography cannot 
possibly learn enough of this subject within four weeks to 
satisfy the requirements of an examiner; and the attempt 
to repair ignorance in three or four subjects within this 
period is a palpable absurdity. It must be assumed, I think, 
that the members of an Institute already have the matter 
of instruction, and what they most need in this line is a 
revival of their knowledge. 

Profitable and Unprofitable Reviews in Institutes. — A rapid 
review of the salient points of a subject, or even of several 
subjects, is quite possible within the period of a week ; but 
this requires the sharp and accurate blows of an accom- 
plished workman. The faults I have most frequently 
observed in the teaching of subjects are these : ' 

First, there is the aimless talk about a whole subject, 
vague and pointless, instead of an incisive treatment of a 
few essential portions of the subject. In arithmetic, for 
example, instead of attempting to teach the whole subject of 
Fractions, it would be better to dwell on one or two essen- 
tial matters, as the relation of numerator to denominator, or 
an analysis of the process of dividing one fraction by another. 
And in Percentage, if the teacher can be made to compre- 
hend clearly the meaning of the term per cent., the whole 
subject will become luminous. In this matter of selection, 
the term typical Jcnotvledge will express what I mean. 

Another error in Institute instruction is to dwell by pref- 
erence on what is merely curious, as the casting out of the 
9's, the cause of the Gulf Stream, hair-splitting in grammat- 



248 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

ical analysis, minute snbclivisions in elementary sounds, 
subtleties in pronunciation, and quibbles in general. 

An error of a more general nature, an error that is almost 
a vice, is the complaisant indulging in mere platitudes, in 
anecdotes, jests, and pleasantries, chiefly as a convenient 
means of consuming time and of making oneself popular. 
An anecdote that is a pat illustration is wholly legitimate ; 
it enforces a point in the instruction, and it puts one's 
auditory in good humor — two excellent things. If we 
keep in mind the obvious fact that the purpose of the Insti- 
tute is to instruct rather than to please, but that we may 
please in order the better to instruct, we shall not be likely 
to fall into errors on this point. 

To recapitulate, the utmost that an Institute of a week, or 
even of two weeks, can undertake to do in subject matter, is 
a rapid review of the typical or more important topics ; in 
a session of four or six weeks this review can be more 
extended and more minute. 

The More Distinct Purpose of the Institute. — Assuming, as 
I think we must, that those who attend the Institute have a 
considerable mastery of subject matter, and that the most 
that can be done in this line is review and revival, we find 
that the more distinctive and characteristic purpose should 
be to impress upon teachers the general nature of each sub- 
ject, and the best methods of instructing and governing. 
In other words, the Institute is true to its proper function 
in so far as it is instrumental in communicating professional 
knowledge, properly so-called. I will take a very simple 
case to illustrate what I mean. Why should a child be 
taught to read ? In teaching primary reading, what is the 
problem the teacher has to solve ? How is the new 
(printed) vocabulary related to the old (spoken) ? What 
methods have been used to teach children this new vocab- 
ulary ? Which method shall we select, and on what ground 
shall we base our choice ? What knowledge does a child 
need in order to name new words for himself ? 



THE TEACHEBS' INSTITUTE 249 

Professional Instruction. — Systematic instruction in the 
line of these questions seems to me typical of the best work 
that an Institute can do. In the best sense, it is profes- 
sional work in one of its phases. It gives teachers a knowl- 
edge of the agencies at their command, and so makes 
possible the facile and versatile use of these instruments. 
In giving instruction of this kind I think the following 
order should be observed : 

The purpose for which the subject is taught -, its nature, 
as shown by a proximate analysis; and a rational method 
of presenting the subject. Instruction in geography, for 
the purposes of an Institute, might then take this form : 

(1) The purpose of geographical study is to produce in 
the pupil's mind a vivid conception of the earth as the 
dwelling-place of man. 

(2) The unit of stud}^ is the earth, considered chiefly 
with reference to its surface. This unit is so vast, and 
the most of its surface so remote, that the greater part 
of the knowledge required must be gained at second hand, 
through books. 

(3) In accordance with the general psychological law 
that the mind works downwards from the "whole to the 
parts, and from the vague to the definite, the first pres- 
entation should be the artificial globe as the representative 
of the earth; and when the grand outline has been made 
somewhat articulate by subdivisions, the details should be 
supplied from the text, and thus a definite whole recon- 
structed out of the original vague whole. 

Of course this is only suggestive. A different philosophy 
would involve a different method of procedure. 

School Management. — Another branch of professional 
knowledge, of capital importance to all who teach, is method, 
as related to school organization and government. In fact, 
in the order of time this knowledge is prior to that just dis- 
cussed ; for before a school can be taught it must be 
organized, and when organized it must be governed to save 



250 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

it from disintegration. Wliile the final purpose of tlie 
school is instruction, it is nevertheless true that the real 
efficiency of the school is chiefly related to the mode and 
degree of its organization and discipline. Teachers should 
be taught to aspire to a high type of school organization 
and government, and the principles and rules of this art 
should be expounded with all possible clearness. In a 
thing so apparently simple as the making of a programme, 
there is involved a large amount of pedagogical knowledge. 
To do such a piece of work intelligently and well is a high 
accomplishment, of which only a comparatively few are 
capable. To organize and grade a public school, and to 
provide it with a suitable course of study, I believe to be 
one of the highest feats of pedagogic skill. At least the 
elements of these arts should be taught in the Institute; 
and the work I have attempted to outline in this section 
should be ranked as one main part of the scheme of instruc- 
tion. When it can be done under proper conditions, a most 
interesting and instructive item in the Institute programme 
is the concrete illustration of method by means of an actual 
class exercise, as in reading, spelling, or number. Elemen- 
tary exercises are the best for this purpose, as children are 
least likely to suffer from self-consciousness. It is unsafe, 
however, to improvise a class for this purpose. A skillful 
teacher with her own class can alone be reasonably sure of 
success. 

What has been said thus far relates chiefly to subject- 
matter and to method; and the belief has been expressed 
that the limitation of time restricts the instruction given 
in the Institute by preference, to method. Assuming that 
teachers have some competence in the branches to be 
taught, our efforts should be directed mainly to leading 
them to know how to instruct, how to organize, and how to 
govern. 

Psychology applied to the Teaching. — At this point it is 
necessary to say a word with reference to what we may call 



THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE 251 

the subjective element of professional knowledge — that part 
of psychology which bears on the presentation of knowledge 
and its elaboration into faculty, habit, opinion, common sense. 
Much of this grade of instruction ought to be given. In 
every Institute there will be at least a few minds of the 
better order that find delight in reflecting on the rationale 
of methods, and there are many more that might be easily 
provoked to this kind of thinking. I see no good reason 
why the average teacher may not be interested in knowing 
the general mode of mental growth, and the parts that are 
played in this process by sensation, memory, imagination, 
and judgment. One valid test of good teaching is the extent 
to which it induces in pupils the ability to think and the 
habit of thinking ; and I see no reason why the instruction 
given in an Institute should not be valued by the same 
standard. 

In the process of my discussion thus far, I have made 
incidental mention of several topics that are of prime im- 
portance in the actual management of Institutes. These 
topics will now be considered in moderate detail. 

1. As between class instruction and instruction by lec- 
ture, which is preferable for Institute use ? 

Where so much must be done in such a short space of 
time, the question of method is all-important. The broad 
distinction between lecturing and teaching must be kept in 
mind. In mere lecturing, the pupil is permitted to know ; 
he has an opportunity to learn; he may learn if he will. 
On the part of the pupil, the lecture presupposes a mind 
already alert, already bent on serious acquisition; or its 
purpose may be merely to awaken and stimulate a desire to 
know — to implant a strong motive for acquisition. Class 
instruction, on the contrary, causes a pupil to know. Here 
the teacher comes into close relations with the pupil, and 
puts him under obligations to know. The actual difference 
is about the same as that between advising and commanding. 
As a general rule, the efiB.ciency of instruction by lecture 



252 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

rises in proportion to the growing ability and interest of the 
learner. Its efficiency is greatest where there is the greatest 
maturity of intellect and scholarship, and least where the 
degree of intellectual awakening is lowest. 

The chief circumstances that favor the adoption of the 
lecture method are the need of awakening a strong interest 
in a subject, the need of teaching the outlines of a subject 
within a short space of time, and the need of teaching 
matter new in substance or in form, and therefore inacces- 
sible by other means. 

If these distinctions are well founded, I think it follows 
that, in a session of one week, the typical mode of Institute 
instruction is by lecture, and this for the following reasons : 
Not much instruction can be given in subjects ; but what is 
given must be select matter, and must be presented by a 
process of rapid outlining. The typical work of such an 
Institute must be instruction in methods and principles, and 
matter of this sort is inaccessible save through oral commu- 
nication. In all Institute work, an object of first importance 
is the creation of professional enthusiasm and a strong desire 
for higher attainments. For these ends the lecture method 
is preeminently serviceable. 

It is not necessary to assume that, in this process of 
instruction, the learner is merely a passive recipient. He 
may be this, but he need not be. In general, lecturers do 
not require their hearers to reproduce the substance of what 
has been communicated, the retention and assimilation of 
the subject matter being left to voluntary choice ; but in an 
Institute there is no good reason why there may not be a 
recitation of what has been presented in the lecture. As 
a means towards this end, I believe that systematic note- 
taking is essential. These summaries will allow the mem- 
bers to recall the oral expositions, and will serve as the 
basis for the desired recitations. With these qualifications, 
I believe the lecture method is the one best suited to an 
Institute of short duration. 



THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE 253 

Instruction in the Subject Matter of the School Course. — In 

a session of two weeks considerable instruction in subjects 
may be given in a modified form of class work. The prep- 
aration of assigned lessons will scarcely be practicable, but 
there may be more or less recitation work in the sense that 
members can be examined on set topics, and can be made to 
exhibit their proficiency by doing some actual work. 

The most satisfactory Institute work I have seen done 
was in a session, of two weeks, where the conductor had 
three assistants. The first hour in each session was de- 
voted to a lecture on some professional subject by the con- 
ductor, given to the whole body of teachers. The Institute 
was then broken, up into three sections, and these passed in 
succession from, one assistant to another, so that, besides the 
general lesson, each member, in every session, had been in- 
structed in three topics, as arithmetic, grammar, and 
geography. It seems to me that this is very near the ideal 
mode of conducting a two weeks' Institute, as it preserves 
the normal proportion between the two methods of instruc- 
tion. I do not know that any essential modification would 
be needed for sessions of three or four weeks. 

Difficulties to be encountered. — I have already referred to 
the fact that a serious limitation upon the work of an Insti- 
tute is the heterogeneous character of its membership as to 
interest, intent, and ability ; and every conductor must have 
debated the question whether a grading of the Institute is 
practicable. No one can doubt that substantial advantages 
would come from a sorting of teachers on the basis of 
ability, and from the opportunity thus given of making the 
instruction more individual; nor can any one doubt that 
such a classification is theoretically possible. The main 
difficulty lies in the cost of such an organization. In 
general, a multiplication of grades multiplies the teaching 
force, and hence the cost of instruction. With three grades 
the work is trebled, and, if the work of the present teaching 
force is not also to be trebled, there must be three times the 



254 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

number of instructors. This difficulty is greatly increased 
on tlie supposition that, at the second session of the Institute, 
three grades of newcomers are to be added to the three 
already established. Taking into account all the difficulties 
in the case, it seems to me that a real grading of the In- 
stitute is impracticable, and that, for the present at least, 
the skill of the conductor must be taxed to interest and 
instruct a heterogeneous membership. The greatest diffi- 
culty to overcome is the indifference of teachers ; and one of 
the best tests of the ability of an Institute instructor is his 
success in arousing an early interest in the work in hand. 
If, at the close of the session, the members could be exam- 
ined on certain portions of the work done, and some tangible 
credit could be awarded for their proficiency, one of the 
greatest difficulties in Institute management would be over- 
come. 

I have now presented the main elements of the Institute 
problem as it lies in my own mind, and my discussion of 
this question has been based on experience rather than upon 
any assumed theory of what ought to be or might be. It is 
very easy to describe the ideal Institute, where everybody 
shall be pleased and instructed; but whoever knows from 
actual experience the real difficulties of this work will speak 
with great moderation and with many reservations. There 
is no feat in teaching so difficult as that of interesting and 
instructing the heterogeneous membership of an Institute; 
and he who does not feel the need of revising his methods 
after each attempt at the practical solution of this problem 
has not yet learned its simplest elements. 

All who are engaged in this variety of educational work 
have yet much to learn by study, by experience, and confer- 
ence ; but it is fair to remember that many of the imperfec- 
tions of this work are inherent in the material with which 
we have to do. These inherent difficulties will persist in 
spite of us. We must court fresh accessions of skill to the 
end that we may overcome the obstacles that beset our prog- 



THE TEACHEB8' INSTITUTE 255 

ress. And if, after all our forethought and effort, the 
results are disappointing, we must do ourselves the justice 
to remember that we are not responsible for the limitations 
of time, for inequalities of membership, or for original 
ignorance and indifference. 

Aims of the Institute. — The following recapitulation will 
close "this part of the discussion : 

1. The Institute should be regarded as the chief agency 
now at our command for communicating some measure of 
professional knowledge and some degree of the professional 
spirit to the great mass of teachers who have had no prepara- 
tory training. 

2. The Institute should supplement, not supersede, the 
normal school. It should not claim to give even the ele- 
ments of academic education or to communicate in full the 
theory and the art of teaching, but should inspire its member- 
ship with a determination to gain the helps that are offered 
by larger courses of instruction, or, when this is impossible, 
to pursue a systematic course of self-instruction by reading 
and study. 

3. The aim of the Institute should be rather to communi- 
cate the best methods of organizing, governing, and instruct- 
ing, than to teach subject matter; and the instruction in 
subjects should be mainly in the line of review and revival. 

4. When practicable, instruction should be made in some 
measure individual by an organization by sections, and in 
this class instruction the members should be made to take 
some active part. 

5. In short sessions, instruction by lecture and note taking 
is preferable, but recitation should form a part of every 
exercise. In longer sessions, class work should be brought 
into greater prominence. 

6. The best work of the Institute should be regarded as 
the creation of the scholarly and the professional spirit, a 
desire to reach high scholastic attainments, and an ambition 
to attain to artistic excellence in teaching. 



256 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

An incidental purpose served by the Institute is too im- 
portant to be overlooked. I mean the wholesome effect 
which it may have on the communities in which it is held, 
in the way of a better educational sentiment among the 
people. In many cases a school of a high type is impos- 
sible by reason of the backwardness and inertia of public 
opinion. The people themselves must be educated up to a 
certain point before an enlightened and skillful teacher can 
do his best work. There are numberless instances in which 
a new era in the history of a school has dated from the time 
when a good Institute excited an interest in better methods, 
and gave moral support to teachers struggling against the 
inertia of public opinion. 

Evening Lectures. — This tonic effect of the Institute is 
produced in part through the lectures and class exercises of 
the day sessions ; but chiefly, I think, through the evening 
lectures delivered by persons who speak with some degree 
of authority. Such lectures, to be of real service, should 
bear on educational themes, and should be of a character to 
interest a popular audience. These lectures may fail of their 
purpose, either by being too technical or by bearing on 
themes exclusively literary, scientific, or historical. 

Even when administered under the most favorable circum- 
stances, the Institute cannot be counted on to produce on the 
teaching class what may be called a constitutional effect. 
The popular lecture is by no means a substitute for the 
library or the school. It is invaluable as a stimulus to read- 
ing and study, and if it does not lead to this result it is to 
be counted only as a jDastime. 



The foregoing clear and practical presentation of the true 
purpose and scope of the Teachers' Institute is taken from 
the Contributions to the Science of Education, by Wm. H. 
Payne, President of Peabody Normal College, Nashville, 
Tenn., formerly Professor of the Science and Art of Teach- 



THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE 257 

ing in the University of Michigan. In the views expressed 
in this paper there seems to be a very general concurrence 
of contemporaneous educators. 

"Academic instruction," says an eminent authority, "should 
have a small place in an Institute. The schools must be 
depended upon to teach the several branches of study ; the 
Institute must show how to teach these branches. The 
school teaches pupils to divide one fraction by another; 
the Institute shows teachers how to teach the division of 
fractions. Institute instruction should unfold the vital 
guiding princi]3les of the teacher's art, and it should present 
and illustrate the methods which embody these principles in 
actual practice." 

"That the Institute should not be allowed to take the 
place of the more formal and extended training of the nor- 
mal school, requires no emphasis," says Dr. E. Gr. Boone, 
President of the State Normal School of Michigan. " That 
it may be made an efficient supplement of the school for 
hundreds of teachers, the experience of Indiana has abun- 
dantly proved." 

There is an apparent difference of views expressed in 
these paragraphs, one of which asserts substantially that the 
Institute is not- to take the place of academic training, and 
the other that it is not to take the place of normal school 
training, but to be a supplement of the school. There is, 
however, no necessary conflict of opinion here. " An efficient 
supplement of the school " is a happy characterization of the 
Institute. Some instruction in the subject matter of school 
studies may be profitably given, without detracting from the 
main purpose, which is to " impress upon teachers the gen- 
eral nature of each subject and the best methods of instruct- 
ing and governing." 

The Development of the Institute. — There has been a sys- 
tematic development of the Teachers' Institute, as note- 
worthy as its growth in membership. Eor many years the 
true function of this Institute was not generally recognizedo 

SCH. INT. & BUT. — 17 



258 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

The principles of psychology received little or no attention, 
and the subject matter of the school studies was regarded 
as the principal, if not the only matter to be presented for 
discussion. With the multiplication and growth of normal 
schools in the various States, higher ideals in education 
have been popularized among the teachers, and the princi- 
ples of pedagogics have received general attention. With 
each successive year there is found to be a larger proportion 
of teachers trained at the normal schools for continuous 
professional work in the educational field. There is a 
gradually advancing standard of general education in the 
requirements made of teachers, and there is a corresponding 
elevation of the grade and quality of Institute work. The 
Institutes become more professional as the members are 
presupposed to possess generally a larger acquaintance with 
the science and art of teaching. 

The Influence of the State Superintendent. — The influence 
of the Superintendent of Public Instruction as a State of6.cer 
has grown within recent years. That official, whose func- 
tions are and must be largely those of a business manager 
of the school system, has become more and more an educa- 
tional force, directing the thought of educational workers 
into new and important channels, and securing the union 
of elements of educational power which otherwise would be 
scattered and less important in their results. 

In a number of States manuals or outlines of Institute 
work have been issued from the Department of Public 
Instruction, the effect of which has been to secure for the 
State a general unity of plans and of subjects for the Insti- 
tutes of the year. The value of the Institutes thus directed 
into a general unity of plan has been largely increased. 

The Influence of the County Superintendent. — Upon the 
county superintendent, or commissioner of schools, the suc- 
cess and value of the Institute must very largely depend. 
It rests with him to determine the character and the amount 
of the instruction to be conducted by "home talent," and 



THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE 259 

the work to be committed to professional Institute instruc- 
tors. An efficient superintendent^ possessing a personal 
acquaintance with the teachers of his county and a knowl- 
edge of their individual ability, can make the best use of 
the materials at hand. An enterprising county superinten- 
dent will secure educators of recognized ability and eminence 
in the profession for the lectures of the Institute. A really 
able and strong lecturer will leave an impression which will 
be lasting upon the mind and character of every teacher 
]3resent. How much depends upon the county superin- 
tendent may be readily realized from a comparison of dif- 
ferent Institutes conducted under similar circumstances. 

^'The exercises may sometimes be pedantic, often dog- 
matic, occasionally irrelevant," says Dr. E. G. Boone. '^ They 
are known to be in places insipid, or often puerile ; notwith- 
standing which it is believed that the final influence in the 
State has been greatly to the upbuilding of truer educa- 
tional standards, the establishment of sounder views, and the 
adoption of more rational instruments of culture." Many 
of the Institutes at the present time are remarkable for 
the excellent character of their instruction, the eminence of 
their instructors, and the great and lasting influence which 
they exert. The county Institute offers an excellent oppor- 
tunity for the organization of Teachers' Eeading Circles 
and of other auxiliaries to the regular work of the schools. 

The Members of the Institute. — In view of the shortness 
of the Institute term, it behooves the teacher to make the 
best of the opportunities which it offers. He should be 
supplied with a note-book, and should make copious notes 
of the exercises, especially of those matters which will 
prove most serviceable to him in the work of his school. 
He should give strict attention to all the work and miss no 
opportunity for acquiring benefit from it. He should not 
be reluctant to participate in the work, either by conduct- 
ing exercises or by taking active part in the reviews and 
discussions. 



260 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Special Topics of Instruction in Institutes. — The Institute 
offers an opportunity for imparting desirable information on 
certain special topics, wliicli are treated inadequately or not 
at all in the text-books of the school course, but which have 
an important bearing upon the studies, and will add to the 
pupil's interest in them. 

Most of the Western States possess a local history run- 
ning back to colonial days. The territory included in them 
was the scene of notable events in the olden time — events 
which possess deep significance in their relation to American 
exploration and the working out of our national destiny, 
but which receive at best only a scant notice in the school 
histories. Short and sprightly essays on the early history 
of the region embraced in the State will add to the interest 
and value of the Institute. 

Facts of interest relating to the State government may be 
presented in convenient and com^oact form, and will prove 
especially valuable where there is no provision for the study 
of this subject in the school course. A concise presentation 
of the physiological effects of stimulants and narcotics will 
be found especially valuable to teachers where this subject 
is not treated in the school text-books in use. 

A brief systematic review of the more important phases 
of American literature will afford suggestions which the 
teacher can utilize to advantage in his programmes for the 
birthdays of American authors and statesmen. From a 
State manual of Institute work is taken the appended topi- 
cal exercise on this subject, which will be of interest to 
teachers of all grades. 



American Literature 



1. The First Book written in America. — John Smith's His- 
tory of Virginia, from which most of the early accounts of 



THE TEACHEBS' INSTITUTE 261 

the Old Dominion are taken. It was published in England, 
and is now a rare literary curiosity. 

2. The Earliest Phase of American Literature, Theological 
and Controversial. — 1. Reasons for this. 2. The first book 
printed in America — the Bay Psalm Book, 1640 : Cambridge. 
3. Noted theological writers — Thomas Hooker, John Cotton, 
Eoger Williams, etc. 4. Specimens of this period extant — 
Cotton Mather's Witchcraft (a literary curiosity), Eckvards 
on the Will (a standard treatise), etc. 

3. The Second Phase, Political and Oratorical. — 1. Eeasons 
for this. 2. Noted orators — Patrick Henry of Virginia ; 
Samuel Adams and James Otis of Massachusetts, and others. 

4. Four Noted Compositions. 

1. The Declaration of Independence ; by whom written; 

when adopted ; its remarkable features. 

2. The Constitution of the United States; by whom 

written (by Gouverneur Morris) ; adopted by what 
convention; when adopted; when ratified and 
declared in force. 

3. The Madison Papers; their contents (full reports 

of the Constitutional Convention, etc.) ; by whom 
written ; in what way valuable (as a ^iommentary 
on the Constitution) ; how long unpublished (over 
fifty years). 

4. The Federalist ; when and where published, and in 

what form ; its purpose, and its results ; its con- 
tributors, and their signature (Publius). 

5. Franklin and his Writings. — 1. Franklin's name, the 
greatest in the literature of this period. 2. His eminence 
in statesmanship and in science. 3. The amount of Frank- 
lin's literary work (which fills ten octavo volumes). 4. Poor 
Richard^s Almanac (which he published for twenty-five 
years). 

Next in order is the more varied literature of the consti- 
tutional period. In presenting the following subjects, it 
may be well for the Institute instructor to describe the 



262 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

characteristics of the persons, omitting the names and call- 
ing upon the teachers for the name when a character is 
recognized by the description. 
6. Five Great Statesmen. 

1. Daniel Webster. Characteristics: profundity of 

thought, clearness of expression, bold and strik- 
ing images, majestic diction and manner. 

2. Henry Clay. Characteristics : frank and chivalrous 

spirit, freshness and beauty of thought, graceful- 
ness of language and manner. 

3. John C. Calhoun. Characteristics: intense energy 

of expression, conciseness of statement. 

4. Charles Sumner. Characteristics : finished and 

scholarly address, exhaustive presentation of 
subject. 

5. John Quincy Adams. Characteristics : earnestness 

and persistency, remarkable knowledge on all 
subjects, simplicity of speech. 



' II 

1. Five Noted Poets. 

1. William Cullen Bryant. He interprets Nature in 

all her forms, and is happiest in description of 
American scenery. 

2. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His artistic skill 

in the use of words, and the perfection of his 
meter and euphony. 

3. John Greenleaf Whittier. His earnestness of ap- 

peal, tenderness of feeling, and simplicity of 
language. 

4. Oliver Wendell Holmes. His keen and pointed 

wit ; his polished verse, resembling that of Pope. 

5. James Russell Lowell. The versatility of his genius ; 

rhythmic beauty held secondary to his full expres- 
sion of vigorous thought. 



THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE 263 

2. The Historians. 

1. George Bancroft. His great work (History of 

America, 10 vols.) ; Ms industry in collecting 
scattered records of onr early history ; Ms care 
and skill in ascertaining facts and eliminating 
the doubtful and false ; the dignity of his style. 

2. William H. Prescott. His principal works (The 

Conquest of Mexico, The Conquest of Peru, etc.) ; 
the unequaled romance of his subject ; the absorb- 
ing interest of his narration; his depiction of 
beautiful scenes and of sublimp and terrible 
tragedies; his graceful and eloquent language. 

3. John Lothro]3 Motley. His principal works (The 

Rise of the Dutch Republic, John of Barneveld, 
etc.); the unromantic character of his subject — 
a phlegmatic people of a small, poor, and dreary 
land; the relation of a tremendous and heroic 
struggle for human freedom ; his deep sympathy 
in the contest between freedom and oppression ; 
his stirring portrayals of heroic spirit ; his analy- 
sis of character and motive ; his pure and elegant 
style. 

3. Authors of Prose Fiction and Belles-lettres. 

1. James Fenimore Cooper, our first eminent novel- 

ist. His principal works (The Spy, The Pilot, 
etc.). 

2. Nathaniel Hawthorne. His principal works (The 

House of Seven Gables, The Marble Faun, etc.) ; 
his choice of weird and sometimes morbid sub- 
jects; his delicacy and skill in treatment; the 
felicities of his style. 

3. Washington Irving. His popular works (T/^e yiSAjete/i 

Book, Tales of a Traveler, etc.) ; the purity of 
his language, recalling the style of Addison ; the 
grace and elegance of his diction, resembling that 
of Goldsmith, 



264 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

4. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her greatest work (Uncle 

Tom's Cabin), and its influence upon American 
history. 

5. E-alpli Waldo Emerson. Tlie peculiarities of Ms 

style ; Ms boldness of tliougM and originality of 
treatment ; tlie frequency of Ms apothegms. 
4. The Lexicographers. 

1. Noah Webster ; his Dictionary (completed in 1828) ; 

his reforms in spelling; his influence on our 
language. 

2. Joseph E. Worcester ; his Dictionary (completed in 

1846) ; his erudition ; his conservatism ; the value 
of his work. 



YIII 

TEACHERS' READING CIRCLES 

PUPILS' READING CIRCLES 



CHAPTER XIII 

TEACHERS' READIISTG CIRCLES 

The New Profession. — When Henry Ward Beeclier deliv- 
ered his famous lecture on The New Profession, he was 
greeted from every side with the remark^ "Why, teaching 
is not new ; it is as old as the hills ! " 

The advancement of any calling from a hnmble rank 
among the occupations of men to one commensurate with its 
true dignity and importance is a noteworthy step in human 
progress. The trade of the teacher is as old as recorded 
history. The profession of teaching is new. 

The difference between the two is really very great, though 
the transition from the one to the other has been so gradual 
that it is not yet fully realized or even admitted by many. 
Likewise, the profession of the clergyman struggled long for 
recognition. Speaking of the comedies of Shadwell and 
Van Brugh, a writer remarks : 

" Perhaps no picture that they drew appears to be more 
outrageously libelous than that of the clergyman. It would 
seem impossible that, in the social gatherings of representa- 
tive people, where attorneys and counselors, physicians and 
authors, were the boon companions of knights and lords, the 
minister was excluded from the best of the feast over which 
he had invoked the divine blessing, and was expected to 
associate chiefly Avith the servants in the kitchen. It seems 
incredible that he should never have aspired to the hand of 
a maiden of higher social rank than a cook. Yet Macaulay 
has shown that these representations were generally truth- 

267 



268 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

fill and correct, so far as the clergy was concerned, and lias 
furnislied additional details of tlie desperate condition of 
the English rectors of two centuries ago. And Swift, the 
great Irish dean, declared that even in his day a pastor was 
deemed an undesirable suitor for an ignorant waiting maid, 
unless her character had been so injured by scandal as to 
preclude all hope of her marrying a butler or a steward. 
And these were ministers of the Established Church, the 
noblest ecclesiastical organization of which the English 
gentlemen could conceive. Under circumstances which 
must have rendered him an object of compassion or of con- 
tempt to the very servants of great houses, the faithful 
pastor labored and struggled. Through generations the 
inlierent nobility of the ministerial calling asserted itself; 
and it has long been splendid in its social influence, its intel- 
lectual and moral power, and its temporal endowments." 

""VVliy do we complain," said Col. Erancis W. Parker, 
some years ago, " that we, as teachers, are kept down ; that 
our salaries are poor ; that we, like ' Poor Joe,' must ' move 
on ' so frequently ; that it is a question whether teaching is 
a profession or a trade ; that we take rank socially below 
the minister, the lawyer, and the doctor; that the school 
boards and parents refuse to allow us to educate the chil- 
dren ; that newspapers and learned authorities pour such a 
flood of criticism upon our work ; that we must look beyond 
this world for the reward of our patient toil ? 

" ' The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, 
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.' 

"What we complain of are realities, and terrible realities 
too. I suppose it is owing to the fallen or weak nature of 
man that he seeks for causes of every evil outside of him- 
self. . . . We are here to make conditions. Complaints of 
others and of circumstances sink into complaints of self, 
when we catch one glimpse of the immense possibilities for 
improvement in ourselves and in our pupils." 



TEACHEBS' BEADING CIBCLES 269 

The Past Decade in Education. — The past decade lias 
been a period of unprecedented educational advancement, of 
activity in every deparfcnent of educational work. Great 
progress lias been made in securing efficient supervision of 
schools in the city, the county, and the State. Notable nor- 
mal schools and universities of the highest rank have been 
founded, and in many ways have exerted their influence 
upon the mass of the people. Uniform standards of school 
work have been established in many States. Organizations 
of teachers and school officers — National, State, and local 
— have grown in membership and increased in number. 
Everywhere a professional spirit has been manifested by 
those who are engaged in the work of education. 

Of the instrumentalities of the past decade which have 
contributed to the advancement of the professional standing 
of the teachers, the Reading Circle has been one of the most 
valuable and important. 

Associations of teachers for systematic, ^professional, and 
general culture are not an innovation. Page insisted upon 
something more than the mere cursory reading of miscel- 
laneous books by the teacher. Starting out with his strong 
emphasis of the true spirit of the person entering upon the 
teacher's work, he clearly indicated the need of "a spirit of 
inquiry, of earnestness, and of progress/' and the necessity 
for a knowledge of the work to be done. He was no less 
insistent in reference to the teacher's need of a general 
acquaintance with standard authors in general literature. 
He recommended systematic reading and study. He went 
so far as to estimate the number of hours a day which the 
teacher might profitably devote to such work. 

The First State Reading Circles. — State Teachers' Eead- 
ing Circles have been a development of more recent years. 
The oldest State organization of this name which was estab- 
lished on the plan now essentially followed, and which now 
possesses the largest enrollment, is that of Indiana; State 
organizations of a somewhat similar character and name had 



270 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

been previously establislied in Ohio, and, still earlier, in 
Wisconsin. 

The Indiana State Teachers' Eeading Circle had its origin 
in the State Teachers' Association at its meeting (in Indian- 
apolis) in 1883, when the following resolution was unani- 
mously adopted: 

'■'■ Besolved, 1. That the association proceed at once to take the 
necessary steps to inaugurate an organization among the teachers of 
Indiana for reading and study, to be known as the ' Indiana Teachers' 
Heading Circle.' 

"2. That tliis circle be under the care and direction of the Indiana 
State Teachers' Association, which shall make rules for its manage- 
ment, arrange its course, direct its examinations, and confer such 
honors as it may determine. 

"3. That this association proceed to choose a board of directors, to 
which shall be intrusted the selection of a course of professional and 
literary reading, the issuing of certificates of progress, and the granting 
of diplomas as evidence of its completion, 

" 4. The Board of Directors of the Indiana Teachers' Reading Circle 
shall consist of eight members, selected by the association from its own 
members, two of whom shall serve for one year, two for two years, two 
for three years, and two for four years ; and hereafter two members 
shall be elected annually to serve for four years. The Board of Direc- 
tors shall select its officers, arrange its meetings, and record and pub- 
lish its proceedings." 

A plan of organization was prepared in March, following, 
by the E-eading Circle Board, and has remained without 
essential modification to the present time. The plan pro- 
vided for the establishment of a Eeading Circle Bureau at 
the Department of Public Instruction ; for county and local 
organizations, under the direction of the county superin- 
tendents ; for the publication of outlines and notes of Eead- 
ing Circle work, as an aid to the teacher ; for examinations 
of teachers upon the work performed, at the close of the 
school year. 

The establishment of Eeading Circles proceeded rapidly. 
In January, 1885, similar organizations were effected in 
Iowa and in Illinois. In June of the same year Minnesota 



TEACHERS' BEADING CIRCLES 271 

and Michigan followed. In July Wisconsin established 
a new State organization. In August Kansas, Nebraska, 
and Kentucky followed. In September Texas organized 
a Eeading Circle; in October, Tennessee; in ISTovember, 
Alabama and the Territory of Dakota ; in December, North 
Carolina. In these various States there was a general ten- 
dency to follow essentially the plan adopted in Indiana, in 
its leading features. 

An interesting exhibit of Reading Circle work was dis- 
played at the Cotton Centennial celebration conducted at 
New Orleans, in 1885, and also at the St. Louis Exposition 
of the same year. 

Discussion of Reading Circle Work. — In March, 1886, at 
the meeting of the Department of Superintendence of the 
National Educational Association, at Washington, the sub- 
ject of Heading Circle organization and work was thor- 
oughly discussed. Papers were read on the subject by Dr. 
Jerome Allen, editor of the New York Scliool Journal, and 
Hubert M. Skinner, Deputy State Superintendent of Indiana, 
and Secretary of the organization in that State. 

Dr. Allen emphasized the professional side of the work, 
and regarded this as fully sufficient in itself for a Eeading 
Circle course. He said : — 

"If a teacher knows all science, literature, and art, and 
does not know the mind and its growth, he is not prepared 
to teach. His work is empirical. 

"So far, we have discussed knowledge essential to a 
teacher's success. Closely connected with this are methods 
of instruction, organization, school government, school sys- 
tems, school laws, and the history of education. Without 
a knowledge of these subjects there may be a great degree 
of success, if there is joossessed a thorough and practical 
knowledge of the nature and growth of the mind ; but it is 
essential that this should be supplemented by the topics 
of secondary knowledge just mentioned. This should come 
as a part of the necessary reading of all teachers, especially 



272 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

of those who have not had the advantages of professional 
training. 

^Qt is objected that teachers cannot be made to read pro- 
fessional and psychological literature ; that they have little 
time to read anything ; that we have no science of educar- 
tion ; and that it is necessary for them to know something 
about history, literature, science, art, and everyday affairs. 
Now the fact is^ we Jiave a science of education ; and some 
knowledge of the common branches is possessed by all 
teachers. It is essential for us^to train up professional 
teachers as fast as possible. Empirical work is ruining our 
schools. Our salvation lies in better professional knowledge 
and practice, through which we shall get more permanency. 
To dissipate and scatter our forces by recommending teachers 
to read everything, will be to destroy all definite work and 
special preparation. 

" Our Teachers' Eeading Circles are set to do one thing 
— the improvement of teachers as teachers. Any attempt 
to cover the whole range of literature in a Reading Circle 
course designed for the rank and file of those engaged in the 
vocation, will fail of making the quality of instruction ap- 
preciably better. ' This one thing I do,' was the motto of 
St. Paul, and it has been the motto of all successful men 
and organizations since his time. The lawyers' reading club 
discusses law matters ; the doctors' associations stick to their 
materia medica and dry bones ; the ministers contend about 
^apostolic' succession and foreordination. Why should 
not teachers use equally as much wisdom ? The time is 
coming when they will do so. The very necessities of the 
times will shut them up to this course, and no other.'' 

Mr. Skinner was no less emphatic in urging the necessity 
for strictly professional study, but was strongly in favor of 
associating with it studies of a more general character. In 
this he expressed the general sentiment of the vast majority 
of teachers, and this sentiment has gathered strength in the 
succeeding years. 



TE AGREES' BEADING GIRGLES 273 

" General culture study/' lie said, ^^ is recognized as indis- 
pensable to the Eeading Circle work. Second in the order of 
consideration, it is not second in importance, since the suc- 
cess of the entire plan depends upon it. This is the leaven- 
ing influence to which I referred. Teachers must have light 
and sunshine drawn from outside the schoolroom atmosphere. 
However great its value, purely professional reading — a 
constant reminder of arduous and unremitting duties — has 
less attraction than the new and broad fields of general 
culture. While I have insisted that teaching is a profession 
(and this argues a life work and life study), there are, and 
must be, very many teachers who do not make of it a pro- 
fession in the sense of a permanent occupation. However 
earnest is their desire to do well, they are not so easily 
drawn to a course pertaining solely to a calling in which 
they are but temporarily engaged, as they are to one which 
is more general in its nature. 

" With us, the general culture idea has been an essential 
and life-giving feature. It has opened up new fields. It 
has proved a recreation. It has not only lightened the other 
work and lent a charm to all, but has been a cardinal feature 
— I might almost say the feature — in securing the enroll- 
ment, and in holding together the members enrolled. Nor 
has it obtained in one section alone. It has prevailed in the 
Eeading Circles of most States. A recent editorial of the 
Intelligence on the subject we are discussing has been widely 
copied and read. I quote it here : ' The literature of bare 
facts, of mere information, of teacherhood, is the region in 
which the teacher now marches and countermarches, accom- 
plishing something, but certainly no great triumph. But 
the literature of power, of culture, of inspiration, of man- 
hood, that which cuts no figure in his diploma or certificate, 
but which alone gives life and potency to all that his certifi- 
cate does contain, is a field into which the teacher ought to 
be led with all the steadfastness and enthusiasm which 
organization and fellowship can possibly give.' " 

SCH. INT, & DUT. — 18 



274 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

State Organizations Necessary. — Mr. Skinner made a strong 
plea for State organizations ; and in view of a disposition 
which, is manifested in some localities to maintain inde- 
pendent local organizations, it is well to recur, at this time, 
to the arguments which he adduced : 

" In the first place," said he, in describing the Beading 
Circle, " it should be a State organization. It should be 
neither National nor independently local. There are various 
reasons why this form of organization should be held supe- 
rior to any other. The school system, to which it is auxil- 
iary, is a State organization ; and public instruction is more 
or less uniform within the limits of the State. In Indiana, 
and in various other commonwealths, there is a uniform 
course of study for all the country schools ; there is a com- 
mon need ; there are common requirements ; there is a 
common system of township meetings, or institutes ; there 
is a teachers' association for the entire State. 

" Again, in the State the system is already organized. The 
county superintendents are already equipped for the work. 
They are the medium of communication between the State 
Department of Public Instruction and the individual teacher. 
There is a peculiar value and appropriateness, beyond any 
mere convenience, in a close union of the Eeading Circle sys- 
tem with the State school system. With new light thrown 
upon teachers' work, and a professional spirit aroused. 
Teachers' Institutes will acquire additional interest and 
value. There is a further argument of no small force, it 
would seem to me, in behalf of State organizations, and that 
is that there is a spirit of emulation, of generous rivalry, 
among the States in educational matters. Their ' exhibits ' 
at Madison, New Orleans, and elsewhere have attested this 
abundantly. State systems may be readily compared as to 
their workings and merits. Admitted excellences are a 
source of honest pride to teachers and citizens generally. 
Defects are best shown and are corrected with greatest 
alacrity when they appeal to State pride. And this is true 



TEACHERS' BEADING CIRCLES 275 

not only of educational matters; it is the beauty of our 
Federal system of government that the various States are 
admitted to have t"heir own peculiar needs ; and a diversity 
of organization, with its attendant generous rivalry in 
excellence, conduces to the best results." 

The Maintenance of the Reading Circles. — The expense of 
maintaining the Eeading Circles is by no means felt as a 
burden by the teachers. Where the plan of a membership 
fee was adopted, it was generally soon dropped. The county 
superintendents, or commissioners, gladly contribute their 
services in aid of a cause which wields so great an influence 
for the improvement of the schools. The publishers of the 
books agree upon a small rebate, or make a contribution to 
cover the expense of circulars, outlines, etc. The work is in 
the hands of its sincere friends, the school officers and teach- 
ers, who generously vie with each other in their efforts for 
its success. 

American Pedagogical Literature. — A notable result of the 
general establishment of Eeading Circles has been the devel- 
opment of pedagogical literature in the United States. 
There was little of this ten years ago. Books for teachers 
had but a limited sale, and were apt to prove a source of 
positive loss to publishers. The new market for strictly 
professional works stimulated American authors to the pro- 
duction of dozens of works on psychology, pedagogy, and 
didactics. The majority of these are highly creditable; 
some possess merits which cause them to rank as standard 
and enduring treatises. A stimulus has been given also to 
the production of books of general culture designed espe- 
cially for the use of teachers. A third class of books, partak- 
ing of the nature of both the foregoing classes, has appeared, 
of which Boone's Education in the United States and The 
Schoolmaster in Literature are examples. 

The Period of Probation. — Great as the advantages of 
Teachers' Eeading Circles manifestly are, it is not to be 
denied that there are to be found teachers and school officers 



276 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

who ignore tlie Reading Circle as an organization. Some 
there are, indeed, who affect to see in it only a scheme to 
sell books. It should be remembered that the establishment 
of the county superintendency, or commissionership, a score 
or more of years ago, was opposed in much the same way, as 
a plan to add to the burden of taxpayers the expense of 
another county officer. Still earlier, the establishment of 
State normal schools for the training of the teachers of the 
public schools was opposed as a scheme to find places for 
more teachers. 

The county superintendent or normal educator who op- 
poses the Teachers' Reading Circle and its work in a simi- 
lar way is but strengthening the arguments which have been 
used, doubtless, in his own State legislature, and probably 
will be used again, for the abolition of the superintendency 
and for the crippling, if not the extinction, of the State 
normal schools. 

The amount of opposition which the Reading Circle 
receives from school officers and teachers is happily small. 
By far the greater obstacle to surmount in the building up 
of the Reading Circle organization in any State is the apathy 
of the school officers and teachers, who need to be awakened 
to the importance of the work. In very many cases the 
teacher waits for the county superintendent to take the lead 
and display energy in building up the organization among 
his teachers. The county superintendent, on the other hand, 
may wait for his teachers to take the lead and manifest an 
interest in such work, before he feels it incumbent upon 
him to engage actively in it or to show any enthusiasm in 
furthering it. 

The conspicuous success of the Teachers' Reading Circle 
of Indiana, which has an active working membership of 
more than 12,000 teachers from year to year, has demon- 
strated conclusively what can be done by an earnest, cooper- 
ative effort of those having in charge the educational inter- 
ests of the State. 



TEACHERS' BEADING CIRCLES 277 

The Period of Assured Permanency. — The Eeading Circle 
has passecT beyond the problematical stage, and is now 
respected as a permanent and integral part of the school 
system in many States — as mnch so as the State normal 
school or the county superintendency. When this point 
shall have been passed in any State, the spirit of opposition 
will be practically silenced, and the work will go forward 
without interruption. The teacher will expect to be a mem- 
ber of the Beading Circle, as naturally as he expects to be 
the possessor of a teacher's license. To this consummation 
in every State the conscientious teacher or school officer 
should lend his active influence. 

The True Origin of the Reading Circles. — It should be 
remembered that the Teachers' Reading Circle originated 
among the teachers themselves, and was due to no outside 
influence or suggestion. It originated at a time when there 
were scarcely any pedagogical books in the market, and 
when it v/as exceedingly difficult for the board to procure 
books that would answer the purpose of their organiza- 
tion. 

The inception of the Teachers' Eeading Circles was due 
to a spontaneous recognition of the teachers' 'needs, which 
recognition was voiced most happily by a lady teacher, whose 
name will always be associated with the most sincere loyalty 
to the true interests of education. I refer to Mrs. Rebecca 
D. Moffatt, of Rushville, Ind., to whom was largely due the 
timely action of the Indiana Teachers' Association, which 
has been mentioned heretofore in this chapter. 

The establishment of the Eeading Circle, as an act of the 
teachers themselves, for their own common benefit, possesses 
a strong significance. In the majority of States, the teachers 
and school officers have cooperated; sometimes it was the 
teachers, and sometimes the county superintendents, who 
took the initiative in the matter of formal organization ; but 
in either event, it was an organization of the teachers that 
was formed for their own benefit, in response to the wishes 



278 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

of the " rank and file " of the profession, and in recognition 
of their needs. 

The Influence of the School Officer. — ^^The work of the school 
officer in this connection has been deserving of the highest 
praise for its disinterestedness. The management of the 
Reading Circle work has entailed upon the county managers 
a large amount of work which they might otherwise have 
avoided. Frequently they have not only contributed their 
labor, but have also subjected themselves to personal expense, 
as well as trouble, in promoting the Eeading Circle interests 
of their respective counties. In view of all the facts, it is 
humiliating to realize that any representative person en- 
gaged in school work should place himself in an attitude 
of opposition to so important and essential an element of 
our school life. 

However, it was perhaps to be expected that the same 
forces which had been so strongly arrayed against the nor- 
mal schools, the county super intendency, and nearly all 
other modern developments of the educational system should 
oppose the Reading Circle with equal vehemence, for a time. 
The period has nearly arrived when, as in preceding in- 
stances, all opposition will practically cease from members 
of the profession; and there are no others directly concerned 
in it. 

In one State, at least (South Dakota), the Teachers' Read- 
ing Circle is recognized by law, and legal provision is made 
for meeting the expenses of maintaining the organization. 
In many other States the Reading Circle is officially recog- 
nized in various ways by the State Board of Education and 
by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. In 
Oklahoma the Territorial Board of Education is, in fact, the 
Reading Circle Board, and the entire management is official. 
In the majority of the States where it now exists, the Read- 
ing Circle is conceded to be a permanent factor in educa- 
tion. 

The Present Duty. — Since, then, it is clear that this insti- 



TEACHERS' BEADING CIRCLES 279 

tution is to remain, what is the duty of the teacher and the 
school officer in reference to it — to lessen or to increase 
its ef6.ciency ? 

In many counties the teachers seem to be in advance of 
the school officers in the matter of Eeading Circle work, 
and lack efficient leadership. In others, it must be said, 
while the officers are earnest and active, the membership 
is far less than it should be, consisting of only the more 
progressive teachers, while, in fact, the others are the ones 
who have greatest need for the assistance and inspiration 
which it offers. 

The course may not always contain the books which com- 
mend themselves most to certain teachers. What then? 
Do they believe that any course can exactly coincide with 
the first choice of every member ? Certainly it is best to 
keep in touch with the fellow teachers of their State in a 
work of such importance. 

Later Tendencies. — There is a marked tendency, within 
recent years, to sameness in the courses of different States. 
Without any regular or formal concert of action, the Eead- 
ing Circle Boards of various States have shown a substantial 
agreement as to the books to be read, and as to various 
details of general and local management. Among the later 
tendencies is also a disposition on the part of city teachers 
to enter more generally upon the work of State organiza- 
tion, rather than maintain a local and independent Eeading 
Circle of their own. 

The Value of Reading Circle Work. — The teacher should 
not merely read the books selected for the course. He 
should master them. But a small amount of reading is 
assigned to each week. This should be thoroughly digested. 
The information, suggestion, and inspiration acquired should 
be added to the teacher's capital stock of working material. 
It should manifest itself immediately in his work in the 
schoolroom. It should add force to his arguments at the 
Teachers' Institutes. It should give him greater confidence 



280 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

in liimself. It should aid Mm in tlie ordeal of liis examina- 
tion for the license to teach. 

Local Meetings. — In the graded schools of cities and 
towns, where the teachers hold weekly meetings, the topics 
covered by the Eeading Circle Course can form the subjects 
of general and interesting discussion. In the country dis- 
tricts it is frequently inconvenient for teachers to meet 
together in considerable numbers for such a discussion of 
the reading assigned. 

In many instances the teacher of the country school is 
isolated from others of his profession, and finds it impossible 
to meet regularly with any of them. The teacher thus 
situated should not be discouraged, but should make the 
most of his opportunities for systematic home reading. The 
very fact that he is making a study of the same topics and 
the same books with his fellow teachers throughout the 
State should serve as encouragement, for it will keep him in 
touch with them and in accord with the best educational 
thought of the time. 

However, where it is possible for several teachers of coun- 
try districts to meet together at stated intervals in a local 
circle, it is highly advantageous for them to do so. There 
need be no formal local organization in the way of constitu- 
tion and by-laws. To some member should be assigned the 
direction of the work for each meeting. It is highly desir- 
able that there should be upon the table a copy of Webster's 
International Dictionary, and that it should be consulted in 
reference to words concerning which there may be the 
slightest doubt as to the meaning or pronunciation. The 
various teachers present may read by paragraphs, each 
commenting upon the paragraph which he reads ; and there 
may be a general discussion of the topics at the close of the 
reading. 

Another plan is for the teachers to read the assigned 
work before assembling, and to devote the evening simply 
to the discussion of what has been read. Sometimes it 



TEACHERS' READING CIRCLES 281 

adds to tlie interest for the teacliers to prepare, in advance, 
papers reviewing tlie assigned reading, expressing opinions 
upon them. 

As a rule, it is desirable that there be but little formality 
in the E-eading Circle meetings, and that the occasions be 
enlivened by music and by other forms of social entertain- 
ment. 

The local meetings of Reading Circle members may add 
greatly to the social interests of a rural community without 
detracting from their specific use and educational value. 
Whether the teacher perform the Reading Circle work 
wholly by himself or in company with others, it is highly 
desirable in every case that the printed Outlines be care- 
fully followed. They may be supplemented, however, to 
any desired extent by a more thorough and critical review 
of the books read, and by the reading or studying of other 
books and of educational journals which bear upon the same 
lines of thought. 

One of the most striking results of the Teachers' Reading 
Circle has been the interest which it has added to the Insti- 
tutes, Teachers' Associations, and Round Tables. It has 
supplied topics for profitable discussion, and it has enabled 
the teachers understandingly to discuss them. 

Perhaps the best result of all is the fact that the Read- 
ing Circle unites in a common interest all the teachers of 
the State — places them in touch with one another — and 
thus develops a professional spirit and interest which is the 
life of the education of to-day. To its interests no true 
teacher can be insensible, nor is there one who can well 
afford to miss the opportunities which it offers for pro- 
fessional advancement. 

The Present Trend of Reading Circle Work. — The general 
trend of Reading Circle work for teachers at the present 
time may be seen in the following summary of the courses 
of reading pursued by these organizations in a number of 
States for the school years 1893^ and 1894-5 : 



282 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 



1893-4. 1894-5. 

INDIANA. 

De Garmo's Essentials of Method. Tompkins' Philosophy of Educa- 
Woodburn and Hodgin's Orations tion. 

of Burke and Webster. Selections from Buskin. 

ILLINOIS. 

Page's Theory and Practice of White's School Management. 

Teaching. Beadings in Folklore. 

The Schoolmaster in Literature. 

MICHIGAN. 

Swett's Methods of Teaching. Boone's Education in the United 

Sheplierd's Historical Beadings. States. 

Parker's How to Study Geography. 

IOWA. 

White's Elements of Pedagogy. White's School Management. 

Shepherd's Historical Beadings. Beadings in Folklore^ or 

KaXe^s Lights of 2''wo Centuries. 

MISSOURI. 

First Year Class. First Year Class. 

Page's Theory and Practice of Page's Theory and Practice of 

Teaching. Teaching. 

Hawthorne and Lemmon's Ameri- Hawthorne and Lemmon's Ameri- 
can Literature. can Literature. 

Second Year Class. Second Year Class. 

Hewett's Pedagogy for Young Hewett's Pedagogy for Young 

Teachers. Teachers. 

Smiles' Character. Smiles' Character. 

Third Year Class. Third Year Class. 

Compayre's Lectures on Teaching. Compayre's Lectures on Teaching. 
Hale's Lights of Two Centuries. Hale's Lights of Two Centuries. 

WISCONSIN. 

Swett's Methods of Teaching. White's School Management. 

The Schoolmaster in Literature. Beadings in Folklore. 



TEACHERS' BEADING CIRCLES 283 



1893-4. 1894-5. 

KANSAS. 

Payne's Compayre' s Applied Psy- Painter's History of Education. 

chology. \ture. Fisk's Civil Government. 

Masterpieces of American Litera- 

MINNESOTA. 

Berard's History of England. White's School Management. 

The Schoolmaster in Literature. Readings in Folklore., or 

Gregory's Political Economy. 

COLORADO. 

White's Elements of Pedagogy. White's School Management. 

The Schoolmaster in Literature. Readings in Folklore. 

NEBRASI^. 

White's Elements of Pedagogy, or White's School 3Ianagement. 
Sliepherd's Historical Readings. Readings in Folklore., or 
The Schoolmaster in Literature. Dickens' Child's History of Eng- 
land. 

NORTH DAKOTA. 

White's Elements of Pedagogy. Andrews' Elementary Geology. 

The Schoolmaster in Literature. Hale's Lights of Two Centuries. 

SOUTH DAKOTA. 

The Schoolmaster in Literature. White's School Management. 
Shepherd's Historical Readings. Readings in Folklore. 



Notes on Teachers' Eeading Circles 

Wliile this home study never can be to the individual 
what personal contact with the teacher is, still much useful 
knowledge, and inspiration as well, may come through care- 
fully selected reading. ... It need not be replied that 
some teachers have neither money nor leisure to pursue a 
course of reading which shall the better fit them for their 



284 SCHOOL INTIJBESTS AND DUTIES 

work. It must be, as it has ever been, that present sacrifice 
must be made for future good. There ought to be years of 
preparation in hope of doing better work and of receiving 
better compensation. All over the world, notably in our 
own country, there is an intellectual awakening. People are 
thinking, investigating, getting abreast of the age. Teach- 
ers must not be left behind. The times demand broader 
culture, more exact training, and a higher manliness. 

— Emma Mont. McRae. 

For teachers there is needed, not only the most thoroughly 
professional, but the most severe continuous training that 
comes from close personal studies or following daily the 
thought of a master. To have thought or read for a year 
in the light of a single idea or group of ideas, by which 
one's reflections are unified and knit as an integral part 
into one's life, means an advance in culture, both profes- 
sional and liberal, that can come from no disconnected 
studies. 

Imperfect as is the Eeading Circle beside the more defi- 
nite and systematic training of professional schools, its ser- 
vice clearly appears upon the side of more accurate thinking, 
clearer and deeper insights into professional questions, habits 
of study, and confidence in individual effort. 

To the end that such training might be available to teach- 
ers who were prevented in any way from attending a normal 
school, and to continue and supplement the work of those 
who had enjoyed such training, it was believed that a course 
of reading that should be chiefly professional, cover but one 
or a few lines, extend through the year, and appeal to the 
maturest tastes and experience of the readers, would be 
effective. _^^ q^ Boone. 

Only a very small number of those who attend the insti- 
tute can attend the normal school, the college, or the uni- 
versity; but all who will may pursue a systematic course 
of reading in the line of self-improvement. This supple- 



TEACHERS' READING CIRCLES 285 

mentary agency is now in process of organization under 
tlie name of the Eeading Circle. Tlie purpose of this new 
organization is to support earnest and intelligent teachers 
in their efforts towards self-improvement, and to stimulate 
the careless and unprogressive to a diligent use of their 
leisure moments. It is too early to describe the Eeading 
Circle as an actual fact, but it is permissible to discuss the 
conditions which seem essential to its ultimate success. 

1. Teachers need to be told in definite terms, by some 
authority considered competent, both the quality and the 
quantity of work that can reasonably be undertaken. Many 
teachers do not undertake the work of self-improvement 
because they do not know where to begin and how to pro- 
ceed, and this degree of support is all the external aid they 
need. 

2. The purpose of the Eeading Circle may be very easily 
defeated by proposing to teachers too formidable a task. 
It must be recollected that the spare time of the average 
teacher is very limited, and that he has no confirmed intel- 
lectual habits that make study easy and agreeable. 

3. As intellectual breadth and literary culture are among 
the most precious endowments of the teacher, it would evi- 
dently be unwise to make the course of reading wholly, or 
even mainly, professional. If it were necessary to make an 
absolute choice between a course of reading in general liter- 
ature and a course of technical instruction, I think prefer- 
ence should be given to the former. But it is not necessary 
to make such a choice, and so the study of methods and 
doctrines should be relieved and brightened by readings in 
literature and history. _ ^ H Payne 

A teacher will either grow or decay. To grow, he must 
read with the definite purpose of adding to his knowledge 
and increasing his professional interest and enthusiasm. 
The Teachers' Eeading Circle is the very best organization 
yet devised to promote these ends. —Hiram Hadlet. 



286 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

It is an important step for promoting a better and more 
extended knowledge of the principles of teaching. Snch a 
knowledge is an essential condition of making the teachers' 
calling a profession. _ j^^^^^ estabkook. 

It will increase the educat^onal stature of every man and 
woman who pursues the course. — j H Canfield 

The Teachers' Beading Circle can be utilized for two dis- 
tinct ends in the successful training of teachers. It may 
be the means of furnishing a course of reading and study, 
in educational as well as general literature, to such persons 
as are preparing to teach but cannot avail themselves of 
the advantages of a training or normal school. It can be 
made the jaeans of culture and development to teachers 
who have completed a course of professional training before 
entering upon their professional work. 

The demands of the curriculum in school and college are 
so exacting that students have little time while pursuing 
the regular course for the reading and study of educational 
literature. The course for the graduated educator should 
consist largely of the best literature — culture books, his- 
tory and philosophy, essay and biography, poetry and fic- 
tion. Whatever informs, broadens, polishes, and spiritualizes 
the man makes him the better teacher. 

Added to this, there should be read and digested well- 
chosen books upon the philosophy and history of education. 
The Eeading Circle also affords opportunity for discussion 
and comparison of educational questions. There is danger 
that too much will be undertaken, and that the reading will 
be superficial. The reading of educational literature pro- 
motes the growth of the teacher and keeps him from becom- 
ing a routine worker, merely. The country teacher, isolated 
to some extent from contact with the world of fresh thought, 
especially needs the uplift of a good course of educational 
reading, systematically pursued. One mission of the Teach- 



TEACHEES' READING CIRCLES 287 

ers' Eeading Circle is to quicken the teacher's thought so 
as to broaden and intensify his influence with his pupils, 
and, unconsciously, to inspire them with a love for litera- 
ture that will lead them to read the books of the great 
writers in every department of human knowledge. 

— Delia Lathrop "Williams. 

Like every other intellectual work, the Circle must appeal 
directly to the individual. If the books are to help you to 
a better understanding and comprehension of the principles 
and practices upon which your profession is founded, you 
must read and master them. This must be largely an indi- 
vidual work. It cannot be done by proxy. It appeals 
directly to the teachers of the district schools, because they 
can do the work alone just as well as the teachers of the 
graded schools. A circle of two, five, or ten earnest readers 
will undoubtedly prove an inspiration and a help, but no 
teacher who really desires to improve need wait for this. 
Get your books and go to work, even if there is not another 
reader within ten miles of you. It is the cheapest school 
you can possibly enter. A good book is always worth more 
than it costs. _E. a. Gastman. 

A better indication of progress even than the improve- 
ment and increasing number of educational journals is the 
formation of Teachers' Eeading Circles. More may be con- 
fidently expected from these associations than from any 
other educational movement ever started in this country. 
It makes my heart thrill with joy to read and hear of the 
good work. . . . These Eeading Circles show plainly that 
the horizon is lifting ; that a new day is dawning ; that tens 
of thousands of honest teachers in our land are seeking for 
the truth that shall set them free. All hail to the Teachers' 
Eeading Circle. ' _^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^ Fa^^^^. 

I regard an organized effort among the teachers of the 
State to study standard authorities upon their work, as 



288 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

provided in tlie E^eading Circle, tlie best means of growth, 
available. Tlie selections yon have made are excellent, and 
I trnst yon may give these books a wide circulation. 

— George T. Fairchild. 

The advancement of onr teachers means an advancement 
along the whole line. The management of the Eeading 
Circle is now where it belongs, in the hands of the Connty 
Superintendents. _ ^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^ 

No movement of modern times, rapid and startling as 
have been the changes in school methods, has ever made 
such simple and economical provisions for self -improvement 
among teachers, or promises such wide usefulness. 

— H. C. Speer. 

A system of culture and education that brings to the 
home of the individual many of the advantages to be 
obtained by direct instruction within the walls of a 
university. -W.W.Jones. 

I heartily indorse a State Reading Circle as one of the 

means by which, if the course be faithfully followed, 

teachers can keep abreast of the times. ^ „ 

^ — John Gannon. 

The State Eeading Circle is one of the grandest educa- 
tional movements ever inaugurated in the State. 

S. C. GiLPATKlCK. 



CHAPTER XIV 
PUPILS' READING CIRCLES 

Origin. — Pupils' Reading Circles are an outgrowth of the 
teachers' organizations, and are generally under the direc- 
tion of the same boards. Dr. P. G. Boone, in his History 
of Education in Indiana (1892), says of the organization for 
the young people of that State : 

" Of a very different organization and with different aims, 
but yet supplementary to the common school system as 
legally constituted, is the Young People's Reading Circle. 
After discussion by the State Teachers' Association, and 
upon the favorable report of a committee appointed to 
consider the question, the circle was formally organized 
in 1888. Its management was intrusted to the Board of 
Directors of the Teachers' Reading Circle. Its plan includes 
the recommendation of books of five grades (Second, Third, 
Fourth, and Fifth Reader grades, and an advanced section), 
to be read under the direction and constant knowledge of 
the teachers of those grades. The reading involves no 
expense to pupils or teachers, other than the purchase of 
the books. The names of readers are reported to the 
directory by the local teacher, and to each reader is then 
issued a membership card. The books may be bought by 
individual pupils, by the school as a body, by the school 
authorities for the local library, or by interested patrons. 
The books once read form, in many communities, the nucleus 
of school libraries." The membership to date is about 
175,000. 

SCH. INT. & DUX. — 19 289 



290 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Illinois Circle. — At the meeting of the Illinois State 
Teachers' Association, held in Springfield in December, 
1888, by an almost unanimous vote, the association requested 
the directors of the Teachers' Eeading Circle to organize a 
Pupils' Eeading Circle. Accordingly, a course consisting of 
two grades was arranged for pupils, and the Pupils' Bead- 
ing Circle was conducted under the same management. At 
the close of the year 1892, the State Teachers' Association 
adopted the following recommendations : 

"That the Eeading Circles be separated at the close of 
the present school year, June 30, 1893, and that two dis- 
tinct circles be formed, the Teachers' Circle, under the 
management of the County Superintendents' Section, and 
the Pupils' Circle, under the management of the Principals' 
Section. 

" Pursuant to this recommendation, the two circles were 
separated. The Pupils' Circle was reorganized and the 
management issued its first circular July 1, 1893." 

Iowa Circle. — The Pupils' Eeading Circle of Iowa was 
organized in 1891, in accordance with instructions adopted 
by the graded school section of the Iowa State Teachers' 
Association, which was held in Des Moines in January of 
that year. A committee consisting of Superintendents I. N. 
Beard of Osceola, Dan Miller of Newton, and J. B. Young 
of Davenport, selected a Board of five directors, with full 
power to act. 

It is to be noted that the Teachers' and Pupils' Eeading 
Circles of Iowa are under the direction of separate Boards, 
the organization for teachers being under the control of the 
County Superintendents' Section, while the organization for 
pupils is directed by the graded school section. The Pupils' 
Eeading Circle Board adopted a single Eeading Circle Board 
for each of eight grades, beginning with the second year 
and closing with the ninth. A systematic plan was adopted 
for interesting teachers in the work. Engraved member- 
ship cards of handsome design were supplied to the pupils 



PUPILS' BEADING CIRCLES 291 

joining the circle. Eacli card contained a portrait of a 
noted author^ together with, a sketch of his life and the 
23icture of his residence. Subsequently, a handsome badge 
of membership was adopted. Diplomas were provided for 
pupils completing the course. This course remained un- 
changed until the school year 1894-5, when the work was 
extended to include the years of the high school course, and 
was divided into two sections, one including the grades from 
the second to the eighth years, and the other being known 
as the High School Division. 

Michigan Circle. — The Pupils' Eeading Circle of Michigan 
was organized under the direction of the State Teachers' 
Association in Grand Eapids in December, 1891. Like the 
organizations for pupils in Iowa and in Illinois, it is under 
the direction of a distinct Board, having no connection with 
the State Teachers' Eeading Circle. It was at first arranged 
to have a separate book for each of the school grades from 
the second year to the ninth. For the school year 1894-5 
two important changes have been made. An alternative book 
has been adopted for each of the eight grades of the original 
course, and the work has been extended to cover the four 
years of high school work. Membership cards, badges, 
and diplomas, have been provided. 

South Dakota Circle. — The Pupils' Eeading Circle of South 
Dakota is under the direction of the Teachers' Eeading Circle 
Board, and was established in 1892. The course was origi- 
nally constituted to cover nine years of school work, begin- 
ning with the second, but it has been extended to include an 
advanced section for high schools. An alternative book for 
each of the grammar grades was adopted for the year 1894-5. 

Kansas and Nebraska Circles. — The Pupils' Eeading Circles 
of Kansas and Nebraska were also established in 1892. Each 
covers eight grades and supplies one book for each grade. 
They are conducted by the Teachers' Eeading Circle Boards. 

Oklahoma Circle. — The Pupils' Eeading Circle of Okla- 
homa was established in 1894, and is under the direction 



292 



SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 



of the Territorial Board of Education. Its course consists 
of nine books, one for each, school year, beginning with the 
second. 

The foregoing presentation is not complete, for organiza- 
tions siiailar to those described have been established in 
other States ; there are also some independent local and 
general associations for the home reading of pupils. 

Representative Courses. — Representative courses of the 
Pupils' Beading Circle in various States for the school year 
1894-5, are as follows : 



Year or Grade. 



Books. 



MICHIGAN. 



Second Grade 



Third Grade 



Eourth Grade 



Eiftli Grade 



Sixth Grade 



r Johonnot's Friends in Feathers and 

H Fur. 

I Johonnot's Book of Cats and Dogs. 

r Johonnot's Grandfather'' s Stories. 
\ Johonnot's Stories of Heroic Deeds. 

' McGuffey's Familiar Animals and 
their Wild Kindred. 
Hooker's ChiWs Book of Nature. 
Part I. 

Eggleston's First Book in American 
History. 
I Scribner's Geographical Beader. 

( McGuffey's Living Creatures of 
J Water, Land, and Air. 
j Hooker's Child'' s Book of Nature. 
[ Part II. 



Seventh 



p , J Johonnot's Stories of Other 



Lands. 



[ Scott's Ivanhoe. 

\ Johonnot's Neighbors with Claws 



Eighth Grade \ «'^^^ ^^^Z^- 

Herrick's Plant Life. (Curious 

I Forms.) 



The pupil has his choice between the two books mentioned 
in each grade. 



PUPILS' BEADING CIRCLES 



293 



Year or Grade. 



Books. 



Advanced Course. High School Division. 



First Year (Mnth Grade) . 
Second Year (Tenth Grade) 

Third Year (Eleventh Grade) 
Fourth Year (Twelfth Grade) 



[ Irving's Sketch Book. 
\ Scott's Lady of the Lake. 
r Shakspeare's Julius Ccesar. 
' [ Scott's Ivanhoe. 
r Macanlay's Second Essay on the 
I Earl of Chatham. 

Shakspeare's Merchant of Venice. 

Sir Boger de Coverley Papers. 
f Emerson's American Scholar. 
->, Arnold's Sohrab and Bustum. 
L Dowden's Shakspeare. 



ILLINOIS. 

„ , ^ J r Scudder's Fables and Folk Stories. 

Second Grade ^ . n , tt • ^7 t> ^ tt 

[ Andersen's Fairy Tales. Part II. 

, . , ^ , [ Kuskin's Ki7ig of the Golden Biver. 

I nircl vjrracie •••••••i,, ./-y -r . t r^. 

I Andrews' Seven Little Sisters. 

^ ^, „ , r Hawthorne's Wonder Book. 

Fourth Grade ^ ^. , , tt^ . 73 7 • 

[ Kmgsley's Water Babies. 

r Scott's Tales of a Grandfather. 
F'fti r ^adp J Coe's Ottr J.menca?i iVez'p'^&ors. 

1 Franklin's Autobiography. 
I Coe's Modern Europe. 

Advanced Course. 

Bulkley's Fairy Land of Science. 
Mitchell's About Old Story-tellers. 
Souvestre's An Attic Philosopher in Paris. 
Ball's Star Land. 

IOWA. 

Second Year ^sop's Fables. 

Third Year Andersen's i^azryTaZes, First Series. 

Fourth Year Fry's Brooks and Brook Basins. 

, Jane Andrews' Ten Boys. 
Jane Andrews' Seven Little Sisters. 



294 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Year or Grade. Books, 

f Ruskin's King of the Golden Biver. 

Sixtli Year j Montgomery's Beginner's American 

I History. 

Seventh Year J ^^^^neau's Peasant and the Prince. 

\ Franklin'' s Life^ written by himself. 

Eighth Year J ^^™^^'^ Tales from Shakspeare. 

\ Francillon's Gods and Heroes. 

Advanced Coijrse. High School Division. 

First Year (Ninth Grade) . . J ^^™^'^ ^^'^'^ ^^^^- 

[ Sir Boger de Goverley Papers. 

Second Year (Tenth Grade) . j Shakspeare's Julius C(Esar. 

I Scott's Marmion. 
r Macaulay's Second Essay on the 

Third Year (Eleventh Grade) . ^'^^^ ^f G^^^tham. 

Shakspeare' s Merchant of Venice. 

[ Scott's Ivanhoe. 

f Emerson's American Scholar. 
Fourth Year (Twelfth Grade) . J Arnold's Sohrab and Bustum. 

[ Dowden's Shakspeare. 



SOUTH DAKOTA. 

First Year Johonnot's Book of Cats and Dogs. 

Second Year J Johonnot's Friends in Feathers and 

I Fur. 
Third Year Johonnot's Grandfather'' s Stories. 

r McGuffey's Familiar Animals and 

Fourth Year J ^^«^"^ '^^^^ Kindred. 

1 Johonnot's Curious Flyers^ Creep- 

[ ers, and Swimmers. 

f Eggieston's First Book in Ameri- 
Fifth Year J caw History. 

I Johonnot's Stories of our Country. 

r McGuffey's Living Cr^eatures of 
Sixth Year o . J Water, Land, and Air. 

I Scribner's Geographical Beader and 

I Primer, 



PUPILS' BEADING CIBCLES 295 

Year or Grade. Books. 

r Johonnot's Stories of Other Lands. 

Seventh Year j Dickens' Child's History of Eng- 

l land. 

' Johonnot's Neighbors with Claws 
and Hoofs. 
Lockwood's Animal Memoirs. 
(Birds.) 



Eighth Year 



Advanced Course. 

r Johonnot's Ten Great Events in 
First Year (Ninth Grade) . . J History. 

I Sir Boger de Coverley Papers. 

Second Year (Tenth Grade) . J ^^^^S'« ^^'''^ ^^^^'- 

[ Scott's Marmion. 

Third Year (Eleventh Grade) . j f ^«^^'« ^'^'^^^ ^''^ ^^^^^"^- 

[ Scott's Ivanhoe. 

Fourth Year (Twelfth Grade) . J Sliakspeare's Merchant of Venice. 

[ Dowden's Shakspeare. 



IX 

THE TEACHER'S RELATION TO 
PUBLIC OPINION 



CHAPTER XV 
THE TEACHER'S RELATION^ TO PUBLIC 0PINI0:N^ 

An Ideal Teacher — Of all the descriptive terms applied 
to teachers, the mentor is the most significant and compre- 
hensive in the ideal which it implies. The Mentor of the 
story ^ was no less than a guardian angel, disguised in human 
form. This character, as delineated by the immortal Pene- 
lon, is more than an instructor of the youth committed to 
his charge. He looks beyond the individual to the mass. 
His eye is ever upon the realm which his pupil is to govern, 
and his counsels are weighted with responsibility for the 
trend of popular thought and action. 

It may be said that there was a peculiar appropriateness 
in this, since Mentor, like Penelon, was engaged in forming 
the character of a Prince, whose apparent destiny was to 
rule a kingdom, and whose prospective exercise of sovereign 
power singled him out for a training different from that re- 
quired by the youth in the ordinary walks of life. Granted 
that the tutor of an absolute ruler has an exceptional re- 
sponsibility, this ideal, nevertheless, is a standard for the 
teachers of the world. 

Who shall say what men in any rising generation are to 
leave the deepest impress upon the people of their age? 



1 The character of Mentor is portrayed by Fenelon, one of the greatest 
of French prose writers, in his story of Telemaque. Fenelon was the 
teacher of the heir presumptive of the French kingdom, the grandson 
of Louis XIV., and tlae story was written as an aid to the training of 
the Prince. In the characters of Mentor and his pupil, Telemaque, were 

299 



300 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

Bid tlie early teachers of Lincoln or Grant, of Washington 
or Jefferson or Jackson, foresee the careers of these men ? 
In Shenstone's familiar picture of " genius in its infancy/' 
in the village school, 

" — sagacious foresight points to show 
A little bench of heedless Bishops here, 
And there a Chancellor in embryo, 
Or bard sublime." 

The Teacher and the State — The influence of the teacher in 
the State is recognized in a noted saying of Lord Brougham, 
which has become proverbial throughout the English-speak- 
ing world : 

" Let the soldier be abroad if he will ; he can do noth- 
ing in this age. There is another personage abroad — a 
person less imposing in the eyes of some, perhaps insig- 
nificant. The schoolmaster is abroad; and I trust to him, 
armed with his primer, against the soldier in full military 
array." 

" Let us thank God," says Daniel Webster, " that we live 
in an age when something has influence besides the bayonet, 
and when the sternest authority does not venture to encoun- 
ter the scorching power of public reproach. . . . Mind is 
the great lever of all things ; human thought is the process 
by which human ends are ultimately answered; and the 
diffusion of knowledge, so astonishing in the last half cen- 
tury, has rendered innumerable minds, variously gifted by 
nature, competent to be conrpetitors or fellow-workers on 
the theater of intellectual operation. Erom these causes, 
important improvements have taken place in the personal 
condition of individuals. Generally speaking, mankind are 
not only better fed and better clothed, but they are able 



really mirrored the great and good Fenelon himself and his royal charge. 
The word mentor has hecome fixed in our language as a term expres- 
sive of the tenderest affection and the deepest reverence for a teacher, 
counselor, and exemplar. 



THE TEACHER'S RELATION TO PUBLIC OPINION 301 

also to enjoy more leisure ; they possess more refinement 
and more self-respect. A superior tone of education, man- 
ners, and habits prevails. This remark, most true in its 
application to our own country, is also partly true when 
applied elsewhere." 

John Milton wrote: ^^I call, therefore, a complete, gen- 
erous education that which fits a man to perform justly, 
skillfully, and magnanimously all the offices, both public 
and private, of peace and of war." 

"Men and nations are as they are taught," says B. C. 
Hobbs. " As a people elevate and sustain their educators, 
so will their educators be found, in turn, the great instru- 
mentality which brings them intelligence, freedom, prosper- 
ity, and x^eace, and in the end true honor and glory. The 
time has passed when the teacher should be considered a fit 
subject for the ridicule of the essayist. States and nations 
must see that where the work of the common school is well 
done, there are pleasant homes, industry, hapj^iness, and 
wealth. Contentment comes to the laborer when he sees 
that worthy, intelligent. God-fearing men and women are 
molding the minds of his children for useful and happy 
lives." 

The Teacher's Far-reaching Personal Influence. — In one of 
Sir Eobert S. Ball's popular juvenile lectures there is a start- 
ling illustration of the transmission of the waves of light 
upon the ether of the interstellar spaces. " Suppose," says 
Ball, "that there are astronomers residing on worlds amid 
the stars, and that they have sufficiently powerful telescopes 
to view this globe, what do you think they will observe ? 
They will not see our earth as it is at present ; they will 
see us as we were two years ago. There are stars from 
which, if England could now be seen, the whole of the 
country would be observed at this present moment to be in 
a great state of excitement at a very auspicious event. Dis- 
tant astronomers might observe a great procession in Lon- 
don amid the enthusiasm of a nation, and they could watch 



302 SCHOOL IIS/TIERESI^S AND DUTIES 

the coronation of a youthful queen.^ There are other stars 
still further off, from which, if the inhabitants had good 
enough telescopes, they would now see a mighty battle ^ in 
progress not far from Brussels; they would see one army 
dashing itself time after time against the immovable ranks 
of the other. I do not think they would be able to hear 
the ever memorable ' Up, guards, and at them ! ' ; but there 
can be no doubt that there are stars so far away that the 
rays of light which started from the earth on the day of 
the battle of Waterloo are only just arriving there. Fur- 
ther off still there are stars from which a bird's-eye view 
could be taken, at this very moment, of the signing of Magna 
Charta.^ There are even stars from which England, if it 
could be seen at all, would now appear, not as the great 
England we know, but . as a country covered by dense for- 
ests, and inhabited by painted savages, who waged incessant 
war with wild beasts that roamed through the island. The 
geological problems that now puzzle us would be quickly 
solved, could we only go far enough into space, and had we 
only powerful enough telescopes. We should then be able 
to view our earth through the successive epochs of past 
geological time; we should be actually able to see those 
great animals whose fossil remains are treasured in our 
museums, tramping about over the earth's surface, s^Dlash- 
ing across its swamps, or swimming with broad flippers 
through its oceans. Indeed, if we could view our own earth 
reflected from mirrors in the stars, we could still see Moses 
crossing the Red Sea, or Adam and Eve being expelled from 
Eden." 

This beautiful illustration of the vast distances of the 
stars is also an exemplification of the indestructibility of 
force. The universe about us performs the work of a 



1 Queen Victoria, who was crowned in 1837. 

2 The battle of Waterloo, which was fought in 1815. 

3 The great English charter of liberty, which was signed in 1215. 



THE TEACHER'S RELATION TO PUBLIC OPINION 303 

recording angel. It is so in the moral world. Every 
voice finds a sounding board and every act a mirror. 
Influences exerted, often unconsciously, remain with far- 
reaching consequences. 

Our echoes roll 

From soul to soul, 

And grow forever and forever. 

James H. Hammond has well said: "In the strife of 
knowledge, unlike other contests, victory never fails to 
abide with truth, and the wise and virtuous who find and 
use this mighty weapon are sure of their reward. It may 
not come soon. Years, ages, centuries may pass away, 
and the gravestone may have crumbled above the head that 
should have worn the wreath. But to the eye of faith, the 
vision of the imperishable and inevitable halo that shall 
enshrine the memory is forever present, cheering and sweet- 
ening toil, and compensating for privation. And it often 
happens that the great and heroic mind, unnoticed by the 
world, buried apparently in profoundest darkness, sustained 
by faith, works out the grandest problems of human progress, 
working under broad rays of brightest light ^ — light fur- 
nished by that inward and immortal lamp which, when its 
mission upon earth has closed, is trimmed anew by angels' 
hands, and placed among the stars of heaven." 

The new science of sociology, which is receiving so latge 
a share of the attention of thoughtful persons at the present 
time, traces to their elements the influences which direct 
the social mass. A few paragraphs from a recent work ^ on 
the subject will be of interest here : 

Guiding Centers, or Authorities, in Society. — "At a first 
superficial glance, society seems a mere mass of independent 
individuals, moving freely as suits the whim of each, cer- 
tainly without physical coherence, and apparently lacking a 

1 Small & Vincent's Introduction to the Study of Society, 



304 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

unifying principle. We know, however, that there are 
psychical forces which maintain the structures and motive 
the activities of the social organism. . . . There is a group- 
ing of individuals about centers of influence or authority. 
By this arrangement social units sustain orderly relations 
to society as a whole, and come under the control of 
coordinating agencies. The term authority is here em- 
ployed in its widest sense, to describe any influence or 
person having recognized psychical power over social groups, 
large or small. It is by no means to be limited to politically 
constituted officials." 

The Basis of Authority in Society. — " The main sources 
of general authority in society are individual mental ability, 
reputation, personal or inherited, and the hold of social 
groups and organs on popular favor. Personal leadership 
is a well-known phenomenon of authority. Certain indi- 
viduals, by virtue of their known attainments, the strength 
of their personalities, the fame which these elements have 
won for them, sometimes by reason of their very names, 
gather and influence larger or smaller groups of followers." 

Real Leaders not Necessarily Conspicuous. — "The power 
behind the throne " is often the real governing power. The 
true leader of men is he who understands men, and is able 
to direct the forces which govern society. The really influ- 
ential teacher should exert his influence unostentatiously — 
it may be even secretly at times. " Leadership is not always 
personal, but is often exercised by social organs. . . . Those 
who seek to begin a social movement by winning the confi- 
dence and convincing the reason of the appropriate authori- 
ties, pursue the most direct, though not always the easiest, 
method." 

The Interaction of Influence. — The force of personal influ- 
ence, which sociologists designate as " authority," is itself 
acted upon by the public. He who would influence the 
mass must be influenced by the mass. " The much-abused 
and in itself dubious phrase, 'keeping in touch with the 



THE TEACHER'S RELATION TO PUBLIC OPINION 305 

public,' implies another aspect of authority which deserves 
careful study. Not only is authority positively exerted 
upon its peculiar public, but that public in turn reacts 
upon and modifies the authority itself. By this process of 
mutual reaction, social knowing, feeling, and willing are 
produced. The successful leader is he who is constantly in 
such close and sympathetic relations with his public that 
they are always responsive to his suggestions and recom- 
mendations. , . . The reaction of public opinion upon au- 
thority makes social control a most delicate and difficult task. 
. . . Authority exercises a positive influence, or leadership, 
upon those under its control, who, in turn, react upon and 
modify the forces originally exerted. . . . The initiative in 
social movements does not always come from the side of 
authority. When the leader fails to recognize the existence 
of conditions which demand action, he is spurred to effort 
by the influences which his ]3ublic bring to bear. The 
social reformer, if repulsed by authority, turns to the public 
and attempts to arouse consciousness, and thus to exert 
pressure on the incredulous or remiss leader. Letters to 
newspapers, petitions, and personal communications to offi- 
cials, mass meetings, etc., are among the means employed 
by the public to influence authority." The teacher whose 
personal influence constitutes a part of the " authority " in 
society must study the temper of the public. This need not 
involve any sacrifice of principle to expediency. Conces- 
sions may be made in minor matters, in order to secure 
practical cooperation in things which are more impor- 
tant. 

Practical Results more Important than Theory. — There is 
a very important lesson on practical management in the 
famous resolution of the British Parliament, which declared 
the throne vacant in 1689. Macaulay, the English historian, 
dwells upon it as something full of significance to practical 
men. ^'This resolution," says Macaulay, "has been many 
times subjected to criticism as minute and severe as was 

SCH. INT. & DUT. 20 



306 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

ever applied to any sentence written by mp.n ; and perhaps 
never was a sentence written by man which would bear such 
criticism less. It is idle, however, to examine the memorable 
words as we should examine a chapter of Aristotle or of 
Hobbes. Such words are to be considered not as words 
but as deeds. If they effect that which they are intended 
to effect, they are rational, though they may be contradic- 
tory. If they fail of attaining their end, they are absurd, 
though they carry demonstration with them. Logic admits 
of no compromise. The essence of politics is compromise. 
It is, therefore, not strange that some of the most important 
and jnost useful political instruments in the world should 
be among the most illogical compositions that ever were 
penned. The object of Somers, of Maynard, and of the 
other eminent men who shaped this celebrated motion was 
not to leave to posterity a model of definition and parti- 
tion, but to make the restoration of a tyrant impossible, 
and to place on the throne a sovereign under whom law 
and liberty might be secure. This object they attained by 
using language which, in a philosophical treatise, would 
justly be reprehended as inexact and confused. They cared 
little whether their major ^ agreed with their conclusion, if 
the major secured two hundred votes and the conclusion 
two hundred more. In fact, the one beauty of the resolu- 
tion is its inconsistency. There was a phrase for every 
subdivision of the majority. ... To the real statesman 
the single important clause was that which declared the 



1 The syllogism, or logical form of an argument, consists of three 
propositions — the major premise, the minor ]Dremise, and the conclusion, 
as in the following example : 

Major Premise: All men are mortal. 
Minor' Premise : John is a man. 
Conclusion : John is mortal. 

If the syllogism be regular and one of the premises be untrue, the con- 
clusion will be untrue, though strictly logical as a deduction from tlie 
premises. On the other hand, if the premises be true, the conclusion may 
also be true, though it may not logically follow. 



THE TEACHER'S RELATION TO PUBLIC OPINION 307 

throne vacant; and, if tliat clause could be carried, lie 
cared little by what preamble it might be introduced.'^ 

Public Opinion Relating to the School. — Whatever his 
position, the teacher will require to exercise tact and care ' 
in his relations with the community. Perhaps in no other 
position in life is a person so liable to become impatient of 
public opinion. The teacher feels deeply sensible of the 
shortness of the time in which the character formation of 
the pupils is in his hands, and becomes over anxious for the 
results. He is liable to become discouraged because the 
public do not at once respond to all his plans in relation to 
the school. He must remember that " confidence is a plant 
of slow growth,'' yet when it has been secured, it is a power- 
ful coadjutor. When wrong, public opinion can be reformed 
only by persistent, patient effort. Keasonable plans must 
be proposed, and they must be such as to secure the assent 
of the common mind, which readily responds to reasons 
within its grasp when they are supported by the sense of 
right. Public opinion cannot be forced, and manifestations 
of impatience often neutralize the efforts put forth to reform 
it. " Eome was not built in a day." " The years go wrong, 
the ages never." The good seed sown to-day may not ripen 
fully in the time of the sower, yet shall it grow in due time 
and yield both flowers and fruit; and the fruit shall be 
after its kind — sweet and pleasant to the taste and nour- 
ishing to the people. 

The officers who appoint the teacher are directly respon- 
sible to the public; and when they fail to carry out the 
ideal of school work formed in the public mind, the citizens 
will elect others more in accord with the public will. The 
teacher, as the executive of a Board, should not be liable to 
frequent change. He should counsel the Board and discuss 
matters freely ; but when the Board, acting within its proper 
sphere, has decided what is to be done, he should execute 
its purposes cheerfully, promptly, and fully, or he should 
resign. The teacher should not feel compelled to resign, 



308 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

however, on a mere difference of opinion, bnt only wlien 
some policy wMcli lie is required to execute is opposed to 
Ms conscience, liis honor, his manhood, and, in his deliberate 
judgment, harmful to his higher usefulness as a teacher. 
In such a case he represents more than his own individual 
interests. 

The methods for molding public opinion are various, 
and are variously exercised. Sometimes the teacher quietly 
interests and animates a few leading spirits in the commu- 
nity. Sometimes he invokes the power of the press, either 
by judicious communications over his own signature, or by 
guiding the pens of others. His social intercourse with the 
citizens should be such as to win respect for his views and 
suggestions. Whatever the elements of " authority " in a 
community, a, shrewd student of human nature will discern 
them sooner or later, and he will learn to touch the hidden 
springs of power. Sometimes a teacher of strongest influ- 
ence is found to be quiet and unostentatious in manner, 
keeping himself in the background, while only the instru- 
mentalities which he deftly handles and directs are seen by 
the public. 

The influence of one mind upon others cannot be formu- 
lated into an exact science. Often its exercise is wholly 
inscrutable and unaccountable. Human likes and dislikes, 
prejudices, and partialities, attractions and repulsions, have 
often no tangible or comprehensible reason for their exist- 
ence. Often they are scarcely known to their possessors; 
yet they play an all-important part in human society. 

The teacher should be a student of character. He should 
know men, as well as children. He should at all times exer- 
cise the tact which is consistent with truth and frankness, 
and which wins rather than repels the social forces of the 
community. 

The Teacher as a Man of Business. — Business men are 
apt to judge a teacher by the character of his business 
transactions. " Does he meet his obligations promptly ? '' 



THE TEACHEB'S BELATION TO PUBLIC OPINION 309 

" Is lie reliable ? " These are questions tliey are certain to ask. 
As a class, teachers are not distinguislied for tlieir wealth ; 
but this, after all, is not necessary to respectable standing 
in the business world. Is the teacher honest and prudent in 
his personal and family economy ? Does he live within his 
income ? Does he take chances as to his ability to meet 
payments ? Does he " stand off " his creditors ? Are his 
representations to be relied upon ? 

Supposing that in the matter of truthfulness in his repre- 
sentations, of prudence in management, and of faithfulness 
to his promises and obligations, he is unexceptionable, there 
yet remain other considerations which the business men of 
the community will weigh in making their estimate of him. 
Is he accustomed to the methodical habits of the business 
world, in so far as he is concerned with it ? Can he draw a 
check or a note properly ? Does he offer to give receipts 
for payments made to him, and does he expect to receive 
like acknowledgments of his payments ? Does he address 
his business letters with sufficiently specific directions ? 
Are his orders for merchandise always definite and intel- 
ligible to the salesman ? In sending a telegram, an express 
parcel, a money order, a freight shipment, do'es he indicate 
a ready familiarity with the rules and usages of such trans- 
actions ? Does he appreciate the value of a business man's 
time ? Does he carry a well-regulated watch ? Has he a 
fair knowledge of the arrival and departure of the princi- 
pal railway trains, of the closing of the mails, and of the 
distance of neighboring towns ? 

It is by these little matters that the teacher will be largely 
judged in business circles. He need not, he should not be 
merely a passive recipient of the influence of the business 
world. His own influence will have a bearing upon the 
business habits of other citizens with whom he comes in 
contact. 

The Teacher as a Patriot. — Patriotism does not consist 
in the unfurling of flags and the utterance of civic senti- 



310 SCBOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

ment, nor are these the best and final tests of its genuineness. 
The true patriot pays his taxes without evasion or subter- 
fuge. He exercises his right to vote. He is ready to sink 
partisanship, if necessary, in his support of the measures 
for the public welfare. He is the upholder of law and 
order. He is ready to perform all the duties of good cit- 
izenship. The really x^atriotic citizen is the true American, 
and his love of country is manifested in many ways. What- 
ever his birth or ancestry, he is an American in sentiment, 
as well as in legal designation. He believes in American 
institutions, and does not speak of them with flippant dis- 
paragement. ISTor does he speak patronizingly of them. He 
believes in the greatness of his country, and in its future. 

The Teacher as a Philanthropist. — Teachers have excep- 
tional opportunity for the exercise of philanthropy, espe- 
cially in the cities and towns. As the population increases, 
there is a growing number of unfortunate persons who need 
assistance and counsel, and who suffer for want of these. 
The local provisions for the aid of the penniless are often 
inadequately executed by the proper officers. There are, 
moreover, many unfortunate and helpless persons who re- 
fuse to acknowledge themselves as paupers, and hence con- 
ceal their bitter need, sometimes preferring even death to 
the disgrace of becoming a public charge. The indiscrimi- 
nate bestowal of money upon mendicants is not to be com- 
mended. Except for the immediate relief of the most 
pressing wants, gifts of money do not meet the case. 

The teacher who has the generous confidence of his 
pupils is in a position to know where a little assistance 
would relieve untold anxiety and distress; where a word 
of advice or suggestion would prevent a family catastrophe. 
A word from him will often secure a coveted employment 
to a person in need of work. A suggestion from him to 
the generous men who give while they live, will direct 
into channels of true charity sums which would otherwise 
be blindly given to the importunate, irrespective of the 



THE TE AGREE' S RELATION TO PUBLIC OPINION 311 

merits of their representations. Quietly, and without 
wounding the feelings of any, the thoughtful teacher often 
arranges little presents of needed articles, purchased with 
contributions that are not felt by their donors. In instances 
of local distress which appeal strongly to the generosity of 
the public, schools, like churches, have arranged, sometiuies, 
to receive contributions of needful things from those who 
are competent to give. In some schools, where each child 
has contributed but a single potato or a single roll, the 
aggregate has been a considerable supply of the vegetable 
and the bread, which has found its way to the needy. 

Apart from the immediate results of such philanthropic 
efforts on the part of the teacher in securing the things 
needful to the unfortunate and distressed, there is an edu- 
cational value in the training of schoolchildren in acts of 
generosity and benevolence. Children organized for a good 
pur]30se soon become thoughtful in regard to the conse- 
quences of their action. The teacher who can enlist the 
energy of the children for such a purpose, prevents in a 
degree the expenditure of that energy for evil. The skill- 
ful teacher organizes energy for good ; the careless teacher 
allows it to run to waste. 

As a result of the teacher's suggestion, pupils sometimes 
organize themselves into little societies for various purposes. 
Sometimes they may form a general society with committees 
on various subjects, as, for instance, temperance^ the pre- 
vention of cruelty to animals, care for the aged and the 
poor, personal purity, special lines of reading, etc. Where 
the conditions are favorable, the plan is excellent. The 
things of importance in life's best work will engage the 
attention of the pupils in such a society at a time when 
character is taking a "holding turn." Eor a case in point, 
a brief sketch written by a stranger to a local newspaper 
tells of a young orphan girl — a teacher — far from home 
scenes, who is remembered for having taken an active part 
in every good word and work. She organized her pupils as 



312 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

an auxiliary to the society for tlie prevention of cruelty to 
animals, and for personal purity in thought, in word, and in 
deed. She walked a long way weekly to teach in a Sunday 
school where she believed she could do the most good. She 
performed all her duties well, and neglected nothing of her 
regular work as a consequence of her other assumed duties. 
She died at her work, and the public mourned and lamented. 
She had become a part of the public life for good, and her 
works still live in the community and will grow as the seed 
planted by the water brooks. 

It is a mistake to suppose that systematic philanthropy 
should be left to the wealthy. Many of the most notable 
philanthropists of the world were poor — some of them very 
poor. " The Man of Eoss " ^ possessed a very moderate in- 
come for a person of his station in life. Indeed, it might 
well be a matter of surprise that his means sufficed to main- 
tain him. Yet what a work was performed by him in an 
humble way, and how his example lives as an inspiration to 
all of the Anglo-Saxon race ! So valuable is the lesson of 
such a life, that the following verses from Pope will not be 
deemed out of place in this connection : 

" Who hung with woods yon mountain's sultry brow ? 
From the dry rock, who hade the waters flow ? 
Not to the skies in useless columns tossed, 
Or in proud falls magnificently lost, 
But clear and artless, pouring, through the plain, 
Health to the sick, and solace to the swain. 
Whose causeway parts the vale with shady rows ? 
Whose seats the weary traveler repose ? 
Who taught that heaven-directed spire to rise ? 
^The Man of Hoss,'' each lisping babe replies. 
Behold the market place with poor o'erspread ; 
TJie Man of Boss divides the weekly bread ; 



1 The real name of The Man of Eoss was John Kyrle. He died in 
1724, at the age of ninety years, and was buried in the parish church 
of Ross, in Herefordshire, England. 



THE TEACHER-' 8 RELATION TO PUBLIC OPINION 313 

He feeds yon almshouse, neat, but void of state, 
Where age and want sit smiling at the gate ; 
Him portioned maids, apprenticed orphans blessed, 
The young who labor, and the old who rest. 
Is any sick. The Man of Ross relieves, 
Prescribes, attends, the medicine makes, and gives. 
Is there a variance, enter but his door, 
Balked are the courts, and contest is no more. 
Despairing quacks with curses fled the place. 
And vile attorneys, now a useless race. 

Thrice happy man, enabled to pursue 
What all so wish, but want the power to do ; 
Oh, say, what sums that generous hand supply ? 
What mines, to swell that boundless charity ? 

Of debts, and taxes, wife and children clear. 
This man possessed — Jive hundred pounds a year. 
Blush, grandeur, blush ! Proud courts, withdraw your blaze ! 
. Ye little stars, hide your diminished rays ! 

And what ? No monument, inscription, stone ? 
His race, his form, his name almost unknown." 

The Teacher in Society. — The teacher should not be a 
recluse. "Society/' says Dewey, "is the great educator. 
More than universities, more than schools, more than books, 
society educates. Nature is the schoolhouse, ^nd many les- 
sons are w^ritten upon its walls; but man is the effective 
teacher. Parents, relatives, friends, associates, social man- 
ners, maxims, morals, worships, the daily example, the 
fireside conversation, the casual interview, the spirit that 
breathes through the whole atmosphere of life — these are 
the powers and influences that train the mass of mankind. 
Even books, which are daily assuming a larger place in 
human training, are but the influence of man on man. It is 
evident that one of the leading and ordained means by which 
men are raised in the scale of knowledge and virtue is the 
conversation, example, influence of men superior to them- 
selves. It seems, if one may say so, to be the purpose, the 
intent, the effort of nature — of Providence — to bring men 
together." 



314 SCHOOL INTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

Tlie teaclier's manner in society should be that of a man 
among men. "The so-called practical men/' says Ealph 
Waldo Emerson, " sneer at speculative men, as if, because 
they speculate or see, they could do nothing. I have heard 
it said that the clergy — who are always more universally 
than any other class, the scholars of their day — are ad- 
dressed as women ; that the rough spontaneous conversation 
of men they do not hear, but only a mincing and diluted 
speech. They are often virtually disfranchised; and, in- 
deed, there are advocates for their celibacy. As far as this 
is true of the studious classes, it is not just and wise." 

Much has been written concerning the teacher's social 
position in other countries. D'Arcy Thompson, who resigned 
his position as Classical Master in the Edinburgh Academy 
to become a Professor in the Queen's College at G-alway, is 
severe in his strictures upon the treatment which the most 
cultured and worthy schoolmasters of Scotland receive in 
social life. In this country, where to a greater extent than 
elsewhere the social position of the individual is based upon 
his individual merit and worth, and paralyzing notions of 
social caste do not obtain, the social position of the school- 
master is very much what he chooses to make it. 

The teacher should be qualified to hold a respectable place 
in representative social circles of his community. He is 
not expected to be a " society man " in the usual flippant 
sense of that term; but society will quickly hold him to 
account for any coarseness of manner and disregard of the 
amenities of polite society. There is a sense in which the 
adage " When you are at Eome, do as the Eomans do " is a 
correct guide to conduct. In whatever society the teacher 
may find himself, he should avoid being conspicuous by rea- 
son of contrast with others. He can concede something to 
local usage, even when it may not coincide exactly with his 
ideal of absolute propriety. 

To bring his profession into discussion at inopportune 
times and places is not mgre justifiable than " shop talk " of 



THE TEACHEB'S RELATION TO PUBLIC OPINION 315 

merchants would be in the parlors of their friends. If the 
teacher has acquired through long intercourse with pupils 
a professional tone and bearing that are distinctive and 
marked, he should avoid manifesting these in society. The 
manner of a learned pundit and a walking cyclopaedia does 
not add to a person's power of pleasing. 

Familiarity with good society is an aid to the teacher in 
many ways. Social gatherings offer him needful recrea- 
tions. In representative society they extend his acquaint- 
ance and influence among people who possess strength in 
th6 community. While polite society benefits the teacher, 
it may receive benefits from him in return. The teacher is 
supposed to be a person of culture and refinement, and to 
possess information and an acquaintance with many matters 
which lend grace to conversation and to other forms of 
social entertainment. 

The Teacher and the Nation, — Thus far the individual influ- 
ence of the teacher upon the community in^hich he resides, 
has been considered in some detail. The collective influence 
of teachers as a class upon the national life is a theme full 
of hope for the Eepublic. There is a great work to be done 
in influencing society at large, and in raising the standard 
of American citizenship. 

"To all this national development," says Samuel Eliot, 
" there have been, and there still are, very serious drawbacks. 
They spring to a great degree from the development itself. 
Corruption follows hard upon growth in society, as in nature, 
and its effects are as fatal in one as in the other. Wealth 
grows, and the passion for it grows faster. Labor struggles 
not only with capital, but with labor ; trade is tainted with 
dishonest practices ; life itself is lowered by the readiness 
with which men forsake its higher callings because they are 
less lucrative than the lower. Power increases, and the lust 
for it increases likewise. Candidates for office stoop to mean 
conditions. Office holders stoop yet lower, and whether in 
town, city. State, or national government, degrade themselves 



316 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

and tlieir aiitliority. For some of our forms of disgrace, 
new words, or words with new meanings, are required, and 
strangers and, children ask, what is a ring, or a lobby, and 
sometimes fail to understand it when explained. If the 
results of political corruption were confined to those who 
indulge in it, the injury would be far less formidable. But 
they spread on every side, they infect our institutions, they 
poison the spirit of our people. These evils are not new. 
They were lamented when the ISTation was born, in the very 
throes of the Revolution, while such as loved the country 
were j)ledging to it their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred 
honor, and others were making money out of its trials, or 
turning its agonies to their own preferment. It is only that 
the evils are more apparent than they used to be. They 
have a larger area, a more numerous following; and so the 
shadows which they cast seem to shut out more of the light 
that should be shining. There is but one way to dispel them 
— by consecrating the i^ation to a higher service, and giving 
ourselves to it, one and all.'' 



OUTLINES OF READING CIRCLE 
WORK 



OUTLINES OF READING CIRCLE WORK 



3>»4C 



FIRST MONTH, pp. 5-42 

I. DUTIES OF PARENTS 

1. Tlie meeting of the American Institute of Instruction- 
in 1838. 2. The address by David Perkins Page ; its influ- 
ence on American education. 3. A new factor in educational 
administration. 4. Need of sympathy between teachers 
and parents. 5. Causes of misunderstanding. 6. How to 
avoid these evils. 7. Duties of parents. 8. Underestima- 
tion of the teacher's services. 9. Inadequate compensation 
of teachers. 10. Need of proper environment. 11. Public 
encouragement of school celebrations. 12. Supervision of 
the child's general reading. 

SECOND MONTH, pp. 45-70 

II. DUTIES OF TEACHERS 

1. High ideals. 2. Intercourse with parents. 3. Truth 
and frankness. 4. Tact. 5. The teacher an adviser. 6. The 
teacher's relations to school ofi&cers. 

III. DUTIES OF SCHOOL OFFICERS 

1. Absolute and relative duties. 2. The school ofiicer 
and the teacher. 3. The teacher's authority. 4. Needs of 

319 



320 SCHOOL IJSfTEBESTS AND DUTIES 

tlie community. 5. Personal responsibility. 6. Officers 
responsible for teachers' recompense. 7. Dignity and com- 
mon sense. 8. Good tools and appointments. 

THIRD MONTH, pp. 73-120 

IV. SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE! 

1. Site and surroundings. 2. Ligiiting for rooms of high, 
ceilings. 3. Lighting for rooms of low ceilings. 4. Shades 
and blinds. 5. The arrangement of the schoolroom. 6. Toilet 
rooms and closets. 7. Desks and seating. 8. Blackboards 
and wainscoting. 9. Wardrobes. 10. Doors. 11. City 
school grounds. 12. An eight-room building for city schools. 
13. Eepair of old buildings. 

V. SCHOOL HYGIENE 

1. Ventilation ; a lesson from Roderick Hume. 2. Venti- 
lation by means of windows. 3. Ventilation by means of 
shafts.^ 4. What is a sufficient room space for each pupil ? 



1 This chapter, on account of its great importance, has been the sub- 
ject of much discussion. It will be noted that Mr. Clark assumes that 
the smaller schoolhouses of the country will be "low-studded," and 
that the true principles of school architecture will not be applied so 
generally to these buildings as to the more important school edifices of 
cities. Whatever the concession made in this chapter to the conditions 
which the writer finds or assumes, the teacher should acquaint himself 
with what is deemed most desirable. There are very many school officers 
who will not prefer the second best, even in the construction of their 
smaller school buildings, but will give heed to correct principles in school 
architecture, whether applied to small or to large buildings. A compromise 
will often result in a construction which will neither properly light nor 
sufficiently ventilate a schoolroom, 

2 Commenting upon the trumpet-shaped box or pipe of a register (p. 112), 
a hygienist remarks as follows : 

" I do not agree with the writer. I would enlarge the opening, making 
it long and narrow, and inclining upward, instead of funnel-shaped ; 
because in the narrow jDlace the warm air will spread out and come in 
with less force, while the funnel-shaped opening will allow the cold air 
to rush in and form an eddy in the mouth of it, crowding the warm air 
to the top, and still have about the same force. In constructing an inlet 
into the room, I would carry the warm air duct entirely to the top of the 



OUTLINES OF BEADING CIRCLE WORK 321 

5. The normal tem|)eratiire of the schoolroom.^ 6. Furnace 
heating. 7. Steam heating. 8. Hot water heating. 9. Sani- 
tary supervision of the schoolhouse.^ 10. Cleanliness of the 
pupils. 11. Care of the eyes. 12. Position at desk ; stand- 
ing and walking. 13. The pupil's food and drink. 

. FOURTH MONTH, pp. 123-160 

VI. AEBOE DAY CELEBRATIONS 

1. Origin and history of Arbor Day. 2. Choice of trees. 
3. Suggestions for planting. 4. Literary exercises. 5. In- 
door exercises. 6. Plant collections. 7. Benefit of Arbor 
Day celebrations. 

VII. THE DICTIONARY, AND HOW TO USE IT 

1. Ethics of words. 2. Use of the dictionary in the 
schoolroom. 3. Webster as a standard. 4. Syllabica- 
tion. 5. Origin and history of words. 6. Scripture proper 
names. 7. Foreign phrases. 8. Fictitious persons and places. 



room and let the air out against the ceiling, so that the pressure would 
always be downward. An opening on the floor will allow the foul air from 
the floor to mingle into the current as it passes upward, and it will form 
eddies and currents in the room." 

The same writer adds: "I think the author ought to argue for all 
schoolrooms to have a fresh supply of air forced into them by some 
method or other. I think all school buildings — whether in the country 
or in the city — ought to have a room especially adapted and well 
heated with registers on the floor or stoves, and sufliciently large to 
accommodate a great many persons at once, so that pupils can be 
thoroughly warm before entering the schoolroom; and the air passing 
from said room directly out of doors." 

1 1n fixing the temperature of the schoolroom there are various matters 
to be considered — such as the age of the pupil, the dampness or dryness 
of the atmosphere, etc. Sometimes the temperature should be rather 
above than below 70°. 

2 The suggestions relative to the basement can l)e extended to the space 
below the floor, in buildings which have no basements. Often this space 
is entirely closed, and is inaccessible for examination. Means should be 
supplied for an occasional opening of this space, for investigation and for 
ventilation. 

SCH. INT. & DUT. — 21 



322 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

9. Biographical names. 10. Gazetteer. 11. Abbreviations 
and contractions. 12. Pronunciation. 13. History of the 
English language. 14. The choice of a dictionary. 

FIFTH MONTH, pp. 163-188 

VIII. SCHOOL LIBRARIES 

1. The influence of unwholesome literature. 2. The in- 
fluence of good literature. 3. Need for school libraries. 
4. E,eport of the Committee of Ten. 5. Choice of books. 
6. Libraries and bookcases. 7. Library catalogues. 8. A 
new profession. 

IX. SCHOOL MORALS 

1. Moral training in the schools. 2. The teacher's re- 
sponsibility. 3. The discipline of the school. 4. Social 
duties of school children. 5. Eespect for law. 

SIXTH MONTH, pp. 191-236 

X. SCHOOL ETIQUETTE 

1. The meaning of etiquette. 2. The importance of eti- 
quette. 3. The influence of example. 4. Etiquette not a 
mere system of forms. 5. Facial expression. 6. Manner 
of speaking. 7. Propriety of speech. 8. Forms of address. 
9. Deportment upon the street. 10. The deportment at the 
school. 11. Care for articles of value. 12. Correspond- 
ence. 13. Deportment at meals. 14. Care of the person. 
15. Washington's Eules of Civility. 

XL SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AND OBSERVANCES 

1. General holidays and school celebrations. 2. Authors' 
birthdays. 3. Presentations of portraits. 4. Suggestions 
for Longfellow's birthday. 5. Some notable birthdays. 
6, Birthdays of American statesmen. 7. Suggestions for 



OUTLINES OF READING CIRCLE WORK 323 

Washington's birthday. 8. Suggestions for Lincohi's birth- 
day. 9. Other notable birthdays. 10. School flags and flag 
days. 11. Suggestions for flag presentation day. 12. What 
constitutes an American flag. 13. The significance of the 
colors. 14. Material of the flag. 15. The American shield. 
16. Care of the flag. 17. The origin and development of 
the flag. 18. Music and literature relating to the flag. 
19. Appropriate flag days. 20. Other school celebrations. 

21. General holidays. 

SEVENTH MONTH, pp. 239-264 

XII. THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE 

1. The function of the Institute. 2. The first requisite 
of the teacher. 3. The second requisite. 4. The teacher's 
" conversion." 5. Instrumental and professional knowledge. 
6. A knowledge of educational values. 7. The lines of 
study for teachers. 8. The limitations of the Teachers' 
Institute. 9. What the Institute is not. 10. Profitable and 
unprofitable reviews in Institutes. 11. The more distinct 
purpose of the Institute. 12. Professiorial instruction. 
13. School management. 14. Psychology applied to the 
teaching. 15. Instruction in the subject matter of the 
school course. 16. Difl&culties to be encountered. 17. Aims 
of the Institute. 18. Evening Lectures. 19. The develop- 
ment of the Institute. 20. The influence of the state super- 
intendent. 21. The influence of the county superintendent. 

22. The members of the Institute. 23. Special topics of 
instruction in Institutes ; an outline of American Literature. 

EIGHTH MONTH, pp. 26T-295 

XIII. TEACHERS' READING CIRCLES 

1. The new profession. 2. The past decade in education. 
3. The first State Reading Circles. 4. Discussion of Read- 



324 SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 

ing Circle work. 5. State organizations necessary. 6. The 
maintenance of the Eeading Circles. 7. American peda- 
gogical literature. 8. The period of probation. 9. The 
period of assured permanency. 10. The true origin of the 
Eeading Circles. 11. The influence of the school officer. 

12. The present duty. 13. I^ater tendencies. 14. The value 
of Eeading Circle work. 15. Local meetings. 16. The pres- 
ent trend of Eeading Circle work. 17. Notes on Teachers' 
Eeading Circles. 

XIV. PUPILS' EEADING CIRCLES 

1. Origin and management. 2. Indiana Circle. 3. Courses 
and management of Illinois Circle. 4. Plan of Iowa Circle. 
5. Membership cards and diplomas. 6. High School 
division. 7. Michigan Circle. 8. Kansas and Nebraska 
Circles. 9. Oklahoma Circle. 10. Eepresentative Courses. 

NINTH MONTH, pp. 299-316 

XV. THE TEACHER'S RELATION TO PUBLIC OPINION 

1. An ideal teacher. 2. The teacher and the State. 3. The 
teacher's far-reaching personal influence. 4. Guiding cen- 
ters, or authorities, in society. 5. The basis of authority 
in society. 6. Eeal leaders not necessarily conspicuous. 
7. The interaction of influence. 8. Practical results more 
important than theory. 9. Public opinion relating to the 
school. 10. The teacher as a man of business. 11. The 
teacher as a patriot. 12. The teacher as a philanthropist. 

13. The teacher in society. 14. The teacher and the Nation. 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Abbott's Histories, Value of, 174, 175. 

Abbreviations in Webster, 157, 158. 

Adams, Charles Francis, address to 
teachers, 167, 168. 

Adams, John Quincy, Birthday of, 
228 ; Character of, 262. 

Adams, Samuel, noted orator, 261. 

Addison, J., Extracts from, 135, 137. 

Address, Forms of, 196, 197. 

Aims of Teacher's Institute, 255, 256. 

Alcott, Louisa M., Birthday of, 256, 

Aldrich, T. B., Extract from, 134. 

Allen, Dr. Jerome, on Eeading Circle 
work, 271, 272. 

Alphabetical catalogues, 178, 179. 

American authors. Birthdays of, 212. 

American flag, origin, size, colors, 
etc., 230-235. 

American Forestry Congress, Arbor 
Day appointed by, 124. 

American Institute of Instruction, 5. 

American literature, Topical exer- 
cise on, 260-264. 

American pedagogical literature, 275. 

American shield, 231. 

American statesmen, Birthdays of, 
213. 

Anglo-Saxon words, 154. 

Appropriate Flag Days, 234. 

Arbor Day, 37-39, 235. 

Arbor Day celebrations, 123, 146; 
originated by Nebraska, 123; 
adopted by other states, 123 ; bene- 
fits of, 123: time of observance, 
123, 124 ; Authors' Grove founded, 
124; aid of B. G. Northrop, 124; 
legally appointed, 124; Good effects 
of, 125 ; choice of trees, 125, 126 ; 
planting trees, 126-129; literary 
exercises, 129, 130; appropriate 
selections, 130-140; indoor exer- 
cises, 140; plant collections, 140- 
146 ; Benefits of, 146. 

Architecture, School, see School Ar- 
chitecture, 73-104. 

Aristotle, ancient teacher, 58. 

Arrangement of schools, 82-104. 

Articles of value. Care for, 198, 199. 

Atmospheric poisons. Children's sus- 
ceptibility to, 106, 107. 



Attendance, Importance of regular, 
20-22. 

Authority of school affairs. Limits 
of, 60, 61. 

Authority of Teachers, 59-63; requi- 
site for good work, 59 ; teacher in 
loco parentis, 60 ; not to be ques- 
tioned, 60 ; not delegated by school 
boards, 60, 61 ; inherent rights, 60; 
special functions of teacher, 61, 
62; oflicial dictation unwise, 62, 
63; teacher a mere operative, 63. 

Authors' birthday celebrations, 208. 

Authors' Grove, 124. 

Authors of prose, fiction, etc., 263, 
264. 

Bacon, Leonard, on juvenile litera- 
ture, 167. 

Bain, on education and psychology, 
243. 

Ball, Sir Robert S., Astronomical 
lecture by, 301, 302. 

Bancroft, George, Birthday of, 213; 
Works of, 263. . 

Bardeen's Rodenck Hume, 105. 

Bmj Psalm Book, 261. 

Beard, I. N., on Pupils' Reading 
Circles, 290. 

Beecher, Henry Ward, lecture on 
The New Profession, 267. 

Benefits of Arbor Day celebrations, 
146. 

Bible, Extracts from, 131, 132 ; Pro- 
nunciation of proper names in, 155. 

Biographical names, 157. 

Birthdays, Authors', 208-227; Lin- 
coln's, 214-227 ; Longfellow's, 209- 
212; of American statesmen, 213, 
228 ; Washington's, 213, 214. 

Blackboards, 86, 98. 

Blinds, Advantages and disadvan- 
tages of, 79, 80. 

Board of Trustees, Establishment 
of, 55, 56. 

Books, abused by school children, 
198; Choice of, 174-177; Gail 
Hamilton on choice of, 176. 

Books and Reading for the Young, 
by Dr. Smart, 169. 



327 



328 



SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 



Boone, Dr. R. G., Education in the 
United States, 275; on Pupils' 
Reading Circles, 289 ; on Teachers' 
Institutes, 257 ; on Teachers' Read- 
ing Circles, 284. 

Botany, Advantages of, 146 

Brooks, C. T., Extract from, 130. 

Brougham, Lord, Saying of, 300. 

Bryant, William C, Birthday of, 
213; Extracts from, 132, 137 ; 
Study of, 262. 

Bunker Hill, American flag at, 231. 

Byron, Lord, Extract from, 134. 

Calhoun, John C, Character of, 262. 

Canfield, J. H., on Teachers' Read- 
ing Circles, 286. 

Card catalogues, 179. 

Carlyle, Thomas, Familiarity with, 
33 ; on hooks, 40. 

Ceiling, Height of, 97. 

Celebrations, Arbor Day, 123-146; 
birthdays, 208-229 ; Flag Days, 229- 
235 ; general holidays, 235, 236. 

Celebrations and observances, School, 
207-236. 

Chartered schools of England, 58. 

Choice of trees for Arbor Day, 125. 

Circulars of Information, issued at 
Washington, 171. 

Civility, Washington's rules of, 202- 
206. 

Clark, T. M., on air shafts, 108-110; 
on furnace heat, 111-114 ; on school 
architecture, 100, 101 ; on ventila- 
tion, 107. 

Class and lecture instruction, Rela- 
tive advantages of, 251, 252. 

Classification in schools, 14, 20, 21. 

Classified catalogues, 178. 

Clay, Henry, Birthday of, 228 ; Char- 
acter of, 262. 

Cleanliness of school buildings, 38, 
117, 118; Personal, 201. 

Closets, Arrangement of, etc., 88-92. 

Commencement Day, 235 ; School 
officers' duties at, 69 ; Value of, 69. 

Commission of New England Col- 
leges, 173. 

Committee of Ten, Report of, 172- 
174. 

Community, Needs of, 63-65. 

Compensation of teachers. Inade- 
quate, 28-34. 
Conquest of Mexico, Conquest of 
Peru, Prescott's, 263. 

Consonants, Doubling of final, 151. 
Constitution of the United States, 
Composition on. 261. 

Contractions in Webster, 157, 158. 



Contributions to the Science of Edu- 
cation, Payne's, 256. 

Conversion, Teacher's, 241, 242. 

Cooper, James F., Works of, 263. 

Cooperation, between teachers and 
parents, 17, 18, 27, 28; Doctrine 
of, 8 ; on part of school oflicers, 64. 

Cornell Agricultural Station, Ex- 
periments at, 117. 

Corporal punishment, almost sus- 
pended, 187. 

Correspondence, 199. 

Cotton Mather's Witchcraft, 261. 

County Association meetings, 66. 

County Superintendent, influence on 
Teachers' Institute, 258, 259 ; medi- 
um between teacher and Depart- 
ment of Public Instruction, 274. 

Cross sections of wood, 144. 

Culture, Importance of social, 191, 
192 ; Teacher's, 273. 

Currier, Dr. C. Gilman, on School- 
room Heating, 116, 117 ; Practical 
Hygiene, 106. 

Cyclopedia, a dictionary on a large 
scale, 160. 

Days of Bruce, in connection with 
history, 169. 

Declaration of Independence, Com- 
position on, 261. 

Deportment, on the street and at 
school, 197, 198 ; at meals, 200, 201. 

Desks, Arrangement of, 95-97 ; Right 
position at, 119. 

Development of State Teachers' 
Reading Circles, 269-271 ; of Teach- 
ers' Institute, 257, 258. 

De\\^, on teachers in society, 313. 

Diacritical marks, 158. 

Dickens' Dictionary, 160; Hard 
Times, 111. 

Dictionary, Century, 150 ; Choice of, 
159; Dickens', 160; of fiction, 156, 
157 ; Webster's International, 153 ; 
Webster's Pictorial, 160; Webster's 
Unabridged, 155 ; Worcester's, 264. 

Dictionary and how to use it, 147-160 ; 
ethics of words, 147-149 ; value of 
English literature, 148 ; sources of 
English language, 148 and note; 
synonyms, 148; misuse of words, 
148, 149; in schoolroom, 149; right 
use of dictionary, 150 ; Webster as 
standard, 150-152; various mean- 
ings of words, 152; syllabication, 
152, 153; origin and history of 
words, 153-155 ; folk-lore, 153, 154 ; 
words derived from Anglo-Saxon 
and Norman French, 154; hybrid 



INDEX 



329 



words, 154, 155; Scripture proper 
names, 155; foreign phrases, 155, 
156; names of fiction, 156, 157; 
biographical names, 157; gazet- 
teer, 157; abbreviations and con- 
tractions, 157, 158 ; pronunciation, 
158, 159 ; history of language, 159 ; 
illustrations, 159; choice of dic- 
tionary, 159, 160. 

Dififlculties of school officers, 65. 

Drake, J. R., on American flag, 233. 

Drinking, Proprieties of, 200. 

Dundas, Henry, Speech of, 155. 

Duties of parents, 11-12; attending 
school celebrations, 36-39; clean- 
liness of children, 19, 20; coop- 
eration, 17, 18; dangers of rash 
judgment, 22-24; duty of sympa- 
thy, 25, 26, 27; environment of 
schools, 35, 36 ; libraries in schools, 
42 ; regular attendance of children, 
20, 22 ; respect for school laws, 185 ; 
responsibility for teacher's recom- 
pense, 34; supervision of child's 
reading, 39-42; supplying school 
materials, 19; visiting school, 19; 
willingness to hear truth, 18. 

Duties of school officers, 55-70 ; ab- 
solute duties, 55; at commence- 
ments, 69; avoidance of petty 
economy, 70 ; caution in selecting 
teachers, 64; considering needs of 
community, 64; cooperation with 
teachers and parents, 64; direction 
of Teachers' Institutes, 258; en- 
couragement of Reading Circles, 
278 ; necessity of firmness, 64 ; rela- 
tion to teacher, 56, 57 ; responsi- 
bility for teacher's salary, 66, 67 ; 
supplying good tools, 69, 70. 

Duties of teachers, 16, 45-54; as 
adviser, 50, 51 ; as defined in state 
laws, 58; definition of word, 48, 
note ; duties towards parents, 46- 
48; duty of frankness, 18, 47, 
48 ; high ideals, 45 ; in mediaeval 
schools, 58; intercourse with par- 
ents, 45-47; mistakes in innova- 
tions, 50; need of tact, 48-50; 
relations to school officers, 51-54. 

E, Dropping of final, 151. 

E Pluribus Unmn, motto of United 

States, 231. 
Eating, Proprieties of, 200. 
Economy in schools. Petty, 70. 
Eden Park, Arbor Day celebrations 

in, 124. 
Education in the United States, 

Boone's, 275. 



Education, Past decade in, 269 ; Prog- 
ress in, 13, 14. 

Edioards on the Will, 261. 

Electric fans in schools. 111. 

Elimination of silent letters, 151, 
note. 

Eliot, George, Characters of, 176. 

Eliot, Samuel, on the teacher and 
the nation, 315, 316. 

Emerson, Ralph W., Birthday of, 
212; Extract from, 138; Knowl- 
edge of, 33; Study of, 264; the 
thinker among practical men, 314. 

English Language, History of, 159; 
Importance of correct use of, 147, 
148 ; Sources of, 148 and note. 

English Literature, Value of, 148. 

Entrances in school buildings, 81, 85. 

Environment, Advice of patrons in 
regard to, 65 ; effect on character, 
35 ; Importance of, 34-36. 

Esterbrook, Joseph, on Teachers' 
Reading Circles, 286. 

Ethics of words, 147-149. 

Etiquette, School, see School Eti- 
quette, 191-206. 

Etymology of words, 153-155. 

Evening lectures of Teachers' Insti- 
tute, 256. 

Excellence, False standard of, 13, 14. 

Expression, Facial, 193, 194. 

Eyesight, affected by school lighting, 
74, 75. 

Fables, 177. 

Facial expression, 193, 194. 

Fairchild, George T., on Teachers' 
Reading Circles, 287. 

Fairy stories, 177. 

Federalist, T/ie, Composition on, 261. 

Fenelon's Telemaque, 299 note. 

Fiction, Names of, 156, 157. 

Flag Days, presentation exercises, 
literature, etc., 228-235. 

Flower presses, 142. 

Flues for ventilating, 116. 

Folk-lore in etymology, 153, 154, 156. 

Food, proper, 120. 

Forced ventilation, 108, 109. 

Foreign phrases, 155, 156. 

Forms of address, 196, 197. 

Franklin, Benjamin, Birthday of, 
228 ; Writings of, 261, 262. 

Frankness in school matters, 46, 47. 

Fresh air, Lowest necessary quan- 
tity of, 106. 

Furnace, Position of, 103, 112. 

Gail Hamilton, on choice of books, 
176; Skirmishes and Sketches, 163. 



330 



SCHOOL INTEBEST8 AND DUTIES 



Gannon, John, on Teachers' Reading 
Circles, 288. 

Garfield, James A., Birthday of, 228. 

Gastman, E. A., on Teachers' Read- 
ing Circles, 287, 

Gazetteer, in dictionary, 157. 

Geographical names, 157. 

Geography, Suggestions for instruc- 
tion in, 219. 

George Eliot, Characters of, 176. 

Gilpatrick, S. C, on Teachers' Read- 
ing Circles, 288. 

Gow, Morals and Manners, 202 ; on 
facial expression, politeness, etc., 
193, 191, 197, 198. 

" Gradgrind system " of education, 
177. 

Grading in Teachers' Institutes, 253. 

Grant, Ulysses S., Birthday of, 228; 
Teachers of, 300. 

Great Stone Face, Hawthorne's, 40. 

Hadley, Hiram, on Teachers' Read- 
ing Circles, 285. 
Halls in city schools, 102. 
Hamilton, A., Birthday of, 228. 
Hamilton, Gail, 163, 176. 
Hammond, J. H., on truth, 303. 
Harris, Dr., on moral training, 184; 

on respect for law, 186, 187. 
Hawthorne, N., Birthday of, 213; 

Knowledge of, 33 ; Works of, 263. 
Health, Teacher's responsibility for 

pupil's, 120. 
Heating of schools, 105-117. 
Hemans, Felicia, Extract from, 137. 
Henry, Patrick, noted orator, 261. 
Historians, American, 263. 
History of America, Bancroft's, 263. 
History of the English language, 159. 
History of Virginia, Smith's, 260. 
Hobbs, B. C, on education, 301. 
Holidays, General, 207, 235, 2,36. 
Holmes, Oliver W., Birthday of, 213 ; 

poem on dress, 201, Study of, 262. 
Hot-water heating, 115, 116. 
Hough, F. B., Extract from, 135. 
House of Seven Gables, Hawthorne's, 

263. 
Humboldt, A. von. Extract from, 136. 
Hybrid words, 154, 155. 
Hygiene, School, see School Hygiene, 

105-120. 

Ideal Institute course, 253. 
Ideal teacher, 299, 300. 
Ideals of teacher, 45. 
Iliad, Character of Stentor in, 153. 
Illinois Pupils' Reading Circle, 290 ; 
representative courses, 293. 



Illustrations in dictionary, 159. 

Inadequate compensation of teachers, 
28-34; objections to pensioning, 
29; Evils' resulting from, 29, 30; 
Alleged reasons for, 29, 30 ; teach- 
er's necessities, 31-34. 

Independence Day, 207. 

Indiana State Teachers' Reading Cir- 
cle, 270 ; Success of, 276. 

Indirect steam heating, 115, 116. 

Inherent rights of teacher, 60. 

Innovations, Objections to, 50. 

Instrumental Knowledge, Teacher's, 
242-244. 

International Dictionary, 153. 

Introduction, 5-8. 

Inti^oduction to the Study of Society, 
Extracts from, 303, 304. 

Iowa Pupils' Reading Circle, 290; 
representative courses, 293, 294. 

Irving, W., Birthday of, 212 ; Extract 
from, 136 ; Work of, 263. 

Jackson, Andrew, Birthday of, 228; 

Teachers of, 300. 
Janitor, Selection of, 118. 
Jefferson, Thomas, Birthday of, 228 ; 

Teachers of, 300. 
John of Barneveld, Motley's, 263. 
Jonson, Ben, Extract from, 135. 

Kansas, First celebration of Arbor 

Day in, 123 ; Pupils' Reading Cir^ 

cle, 291. 
Key, Francis S., Star Spangled 

Banner by, 232, 233. 
Kyrle, John, The Man of Ross, 312, 

313. 

Language, History of English, 159; 
Importance of using correct, 194. 

Larcom, Lucy, Extracts from, 37, 
133, 139, 140. 

Lavatories in schools, 87, 88. 

Lecture and class instruction. Rela- 
tive advantages of, 251, 252. 

Letters, Elimination of silent, 151 
note. 

Letter-writing, 199. 

Lexicographers, German, 151, 152; 
American, 150, 151, 264. 

Libraries, School, 163-180 ; and book- 
cases, 177-180. 

Library catalogues, 178, 179; Day, 
235. 

Lighting in schools, 74-82; by oppo- 
site windows, 77; North and 
south, 77, 78; East and west, 78, 
79; shutters, shades, etc., 80; 
south entrances, 81, 82. 



INDEX 



331 



Limitations of school-board's author- 
ity, 60 ; of Teachers' Institute, 246. 

Lincoln, Abraham, Extracts from 
speeches of, 218-224; Suggestions 
for birthday of, 214-227 ; Teachers 
of, 300; Tom Taylor's tribute to, 
225-227. 

Lincoln leaflets, 214-224. 

Xines of study for teachers, 245, 246. 

Literary exercises for Arbor Day, 
129, 130. 

Literature, Adams, C. F., on, 167; 
American pedagogical, 275 ; appeal 
for reform, 167; Good, 169, 170; 
in Schools, Report of Committee of 
Ten, 172-174; insufficient instruc- 
tion in reading, 168 ; Juvenile, 163- 
180; Street, 164, 165; Sumner, 
W. G., on, 165-167; relating to 
American flag, 232-234; Sunday 
school, 163, 164; Topical exercise 
on, 260-264; Unwholesome, 163-168. 

Local meetings for Reading Circles, 
280, 281 

Locke Amsdeti, Extract from, 105. 

Longfellow, Henry W., Extracts from, 
130, 131, 136, 209-212; Study of, 
262; Suggestions for birthday of, 
209-212 ; Understanding of, 33. 

Lowell, James R., Birthday of, 212; 
Extract from, 132 ; Study of, 262. 

Lytton, Lord, Extract from, 131. 

Macaulay, on practical results, 305. 

Madison, James, Birthday of, 228. 

Madison Papers, Composition on, 
261. 

Mann, Horace, on power of school- 
officers, 61 note ; pioneer of educa- 
tion, 6 ; publishes Mr. Page's ad- 
dress, 6, 7. 

Manuals of institute work, 248, 258. 

Marble, Superintendent, on power of 
school-officers, 60 note ; on relation 
between teachers and school-offi- 
cers, 56-59. 

Marble Faun, Hawthorne's, 263. 

Massachusetts, law of 1826, 56 ; law 
relating to teachers, 58, 59. 

Massey, Gerald, Extract from, 135. 

McRae, Emma M., on Teachers' 
Reading Circles, 283, 284. 

Mechanical virtues, 184, 185. 

Medals, Dangers of, 187, 188. 

Mediaeval schools, 58. 

Melville, Lord, Speech of, 155. 

Mentor, Fe'nelon's character of, 299 
and note. 

Metcalf, Prof. Robert C, on jpublic 
school reading, 169. 



Method, Importance of good, 241; 
relation*to school government, 249, 
250 ; teacher's instrumental knowl- 
edge, 243. 

Michigan Pupils' Reading Circle, 
291 ; representative courses, 292. 

Microscopic investigation, Plants 
for, 145. 

Miller, Dan, on Pupils' Reading Cir- 
cles, 290. 

Miller, Joaquin, Extract from, 133. 

Milton, John, Extract from, 134; 
Familiarity with, 33; on educa- 
tion, 301. 

Misunderstanding between teachers 
and parents, 13-16. 

Misuse of words, 148, 149, 

Moffatt, Rebecca D., on Teachers' 
Reading Circle, 277. 

Monroe, James, Birthday of, 228. 

Moral culture, Massachusetts law in 
regard to, 58, 59. 

Moral training in schools, 181-183. 

Morality defined, 183. 

Morals and Manners, Gow's, 202. 

Morals, School, see School Morals, 
181-188. 

Motley, John L., Birthday of, 212; 
Works of, 263. 

Motto of United States, 231. 

Muloch, Miss, Characters of, 176. 

Music relating to American flag, 
232-234. 

Mutual Duties of Parents and Teach- 
ers, Page's, 6. . 

Names, Biographical, 157 ; Geograph- 
ical, 157; of fiction, 156, 157. 

Nation, The teacher and the, 315, 
316. 

National Bureau of Education, 8. 

National Educational Association, 
5,66. 

National songs and poems, 233. 

Neatness, in the school, 38, 117, 118 ; 
Personal, 201. 

Nebraska, Arbor Day originated in, 
123 ; Pupils' Reading Circle, 291. 

Needs of community. Consideration 
of, 63-65. ' 

Neio Profession, The, by H. W. 
Beecher, 267. 

Normal school, Difference between 
institute and, 239, 240; Function 
of, 239. 

Normal temperature of room. 111. 

Norman conquest, its effect on Eng- 
lish language, 148. 

Norman French, Words derived 
from, 154. 



332 



SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 



Northrop, B. G., on landscape gar- 
dening, 124. 

Notes on Teachers' Keading Circles, 
28S-288. 

Official dictation, Dangers of, 62, 63. 
Oklahoma Pupils' Reading Circle, 

291, 292. 
Opening exercises, 181, 182. 
Origin of Arbor Day, 123-125; of 

Pupils' Reading Circles, 289; of 

Teachers' Reading Circles, 277. 
Oswald, Felix L., Extract from, 133. 
Otis, James, noted orator, 261. 
Ounce, abbreviation of, 158. 
Outlines of Reading Circle Work, 

319-324. 

Page, David Perkins, pioneer in 
education, 6, 11 ; on duties of 
parents, 11^2; on duties of teach- 
ers, 45-54; on Teachers' Associa- 
tions, 269. 

Parents, Advantages of cooperation 
of, 27, 28; Authority of, 57, 58; 
Critical dictation of, 14, 15; Duties 
of, 11-42; Misunderstanding be- 
tween teachers and, 13-16 ; Obliga- 
tions towards teachers, 26, 27; 
Suspicious spirit of, 14 ; Sympathy 
with teachers, 11-13, 25, 26. 

Parker, Col. Francis W., on Teach- 
ers' Reading Circles, 287; on 
teaching, 268. 

Payne, William H., Contributions 
to Science of Education, 239-264 ; 
on Teachers' Institutes, 256; on 
Teachers' Reading Circles, 284, 285. 

Peaslee, John B., founder of Authors' 
Grove, 124. 

Pension system, Objections to, 29. 

Personal influence, 304, 305. 

Pilot, The, Cooper's, 263. 

Plant collections in schools, 140-146. 

Plant photography, 143. 

Planting trees, Suggestions for, 126- 
129. 

Plants for microscopic investigation, 
145. 

Platform, Teacher's, 95-97. 

Plato, ancient teacher, 58. 

Playgrounds, 100, 101. 

Politeness, not a matter of forms, 
193; expressed by speech, 194, 195. 

Political phase in American litera- 
ture, 261. 

Poor Richard's Almanac, 261. 

Pope, Alexander, Extract from, 131. 

Porter, N., on iuvenile literature, 
167. 



Practical Hygiene, Currier's, 106. 

Practical results. Importance of, 
305-307. 

Prescott, William H., Birthday of, 
212 ; Works of, 263. 

Presentation of portraits, 208, 209. 

Primary teachers, 30. 

Primers, List of, 175, 176. 

Principal, Office of, 103 ; Selection of 
teachers by, 64 ; Selection of text- 
books by, 64, 65. 

Privies, School, 88-92. 

Prizes, Dangers of, 187, 188. 

Professional culture for teachers, 
271, 272. 

Professional knowledge, Teacher's, 
242-244. 

Professional training, 29-32. 

Professor, abuse of title, 196, 197. 

Pronunciation of words, 158, 159. 

Psalm of Life, Longfellow's, 39. 

Psychology applied to teaching, 243, 
250, 251. 

Public money for school libraries, 
41. 

Public opinion, relating to school, 
307, 308; Teacher's relation to, 
299-316. 

Punctuality, Importance of, 22 ; in 
school, 184 ; result of moral train- 
ing, 184, 185. 

Pupils' Reading Circles, 289-295; 
Boone, R. G., on, 289; Illinois, 
290; Indiana, 170,289; Iowa, 290; 
Kansas, 291 ; Membership of, 289 ; 
Michigan, 291; Nebraska, 291; 
Oklahoma, 291 ; Organization of, 
40, 41 ; Origin of, 289 ; Represen- 
tative courses in, 292-295; South 
Dakota, 291 ; Teacher's encourage- 
ment of, 51. 

Quibbling, Dangers of, 247, 248. 

Rank of teacher, 268. 

Reading, influence on child's mind, 
40, 41 ; Supervision of child's, 
39-42. See also Literature. 

Reading Circles, Allen (Dr. Jerome) 
on, 271, 272; discussion of work, 
271 ; established in various states, 
270, 271; in educational advance- 
ment, 269; Indiana State Teach- 
ers', 269, 270; local meetings, 280, 
281; Maintenance of, 275; notes 
on Teachers', 283-288; officially 
recognized, 278; outlines of work, 
319-324 ; permanent institutions, 
276, 277; present trend of work, 
281-283; Pupils', 40, 41, 51, 170, 



INDEX 



333 



289-295 ; representative courses, 
292-295 ; school-officer's influence, 
278; Skinner (H. M.) on organ- 
ization, 274, 275; Teachers', 33, 
49, 267-288; Teachers' attitude 
towards, 278, 279 ; True origin of, 
277; value of work, 279, 280; work 
exhibited, 271. 

Recitation rooms, Arrangement of, 
98, 99. 

Reform, Appeal for, 167. 

Registers, Position of, 111-114. 

Religious training, distinguished 
from moral, 182. 

Repair, Necessity for constant, 104. 

Report of Committee of Ten, 172-174. 

Rise of the Dutch Republic, Motley's, 
263. 

Robinson Crusoe, in connection with 
geography, 169. 

Roderick Hume, Extract from, 105. 

Rule for final consonants, 151. 

Ruskin, John, Extract from, 133; 
Understanding of, 33. 

Salary, Teachers', 34, 66, 67. 

Sashes, arrangements for ventila- 
tion, 107, 108 ; Shape and size of, 79. 

Scholarship, Teachers', 240, 241. 

School Architecture, 70, 73-104 ; site 
and surroundings, 73, 74; lighting, 
74-82 ; arrangement of school- 
house, 82-100 ; need of a competent 
critic, 83, 84; main schoolroom, 

84, 85 ; arrangement of entrances, 

85, 86; rooms in small and large 
buildings, 86 ; vestibules, 86, 87 ; 
wardrobes, washing conveniences, 
etc., 87, 88 ; arrangement of closets, 
88-92 ; moral dangers of improper 
arrangement, 88, 89 ; best position, 
89 ; importance of cleanliness, 
privacy, etc., 90; relative advan- 
tages of water and earth closets 
and privies, 90, 91 ; details of 
arrangement, urinals, screens, etc., 
91, 92; position of woodshed, 92, 
93; position of stove, etc., 93, 94, 
98; additional rooms, 94; seating 
capacity, 94 ; arrangement of desks 
and platforms, 95-97; height of 
ceiling, window sills, etc., 97; 
arrangement of blackboards, 98; 
size and arrangement of recitation 
rooms, etc., 98, 99; necessity of 
teacher's room, 98; details of 
general planning, 99, 100; height 
of stairs, 100 ; arrangement in city 
schools, 100-104; school grounds, 
100, 101; halls, wardrobes, and 



teachers' rooms, 102; toilet ar- 
rangements, 102 ; principal's office, 
103; position of furnace, 103; de- 
tails of arrangement, 103, 104 ; 
evils in old schoolhouses, 104 ; 
necessity of constant repair, 104. 

School boards. Educational affairs 
administered by, 7, 8 ; Limit of 
authority of , 60, 61; Members of, 
52, 53, 54; relation to authority 
of teachers, 59-63. 

School celebrations and observances, 
36-42, 207-236 ; American flag and 
shield, 230-232 ; Arbor, Commence- 
ment, and Library Days, 235; 
authors' birthdays, 208, 209; En- 
couragement of, 36, 37 ; Flag Pres- 
entation Day, 229; general holi- 
days, 207, 235, 236; Good effects 
of, 38, 39; Lincoln's birthday, 
214-227; lists of notable birth- 
days, 212, 213, 228 ; music and lit- 
erature relating to flag, 232-234; 
school flags and Flag Days, 228, 
229, 234, 235; suggestions for 
Longfellow's birthday, 209-212 ; 
Washington's birthday, 213, 214. 

School committees, Subdivision of, 65. 

School etiquette, 191-206; meaning 
of the word, 191 ; Importance of, 
191, 192; influence of example, 
192 ; not a mere system of forms, 
193; facial expression, 193, 194; 
manner of speaking, 194, 195; 
forms of address, 196, 197 ; deport- 
ment in school, on the street, and 
at meals, 197-201 ; care for articles 
of value, 198, 199 ; correspondence, 
199; care of the person, 201, 202; 
Gow's Morals and Manners, 202; 
Washington's Rules of Civility, 
202-206. 

School flags and Flag Days, 228, 229. 

School hygiene, 105-120 ; ventilation 
and heating, 105-117 ; lowest stan- 
dard amount of fresh air, 106 ; 
atmospheric poisons, 106, 107 ; fre- 
quent ventilation, 107; sash ar- 
rangements for ventilation, 107, 
108; dangers of "forced ventila- 
tion," 108, 109; provisions for es- 
cape of foul air, 110; avoiding 
friction, 110 ; difficulties in crowded 
schoolrooms. 111; electric fans, 
111 ; normal temperature of room, 
111 ; position of furnace and regis- 
ters, 111-114; checks to force of 
wind, 113, 114; steam heating, 
114, 115; hot-water heating, 115, 
116; relative advantages of vari- 



334 



SCHOOL INTERESTS AND DUTIES 



ous heating methods, 116, 117; 
exhaust flues for ventilating, 116; 
cleanliness, 117, 118; selection 
of janitor, 118; care of eyes — 
good type, 119; right position at 
desk, 119; food and water, 120; 
teacher's responsibility for pupil's 
health, 120. 

School laws of the state, 58. 

School libraries, 41, 42, 163-180 
Books suitable for, 42 ; catalogues 
178, 179 ; choice of books, 174-177 
Circulars of Information, 171 ; in 
fluence of good literature, 168-170 
Need for, 170-172; Influence of 
teacher in procuring, 180 ; influence 
of unwholesome literature,163-168 ; 
libraries and bookcases, 177-180; 
Means of procuring, 170, 171 ; Pub- 
lic money lor, 41 ; Report of Com- 
mittee of Tea, 172; schools for 
training librarians, 180. 

School life. Importance of culture in, 
192. 

School management and organiza- 
tion, 249, 250. 

School Management, by Dr. E. E. 
White, 59. 

School Morals, 181-188 ; moral train- 
ing in schools, 181-183; difference 
between moral and religious train- 
ing, 181; opening exercises, 182; 
constant training in schoolroom, 
182, 183; influence of beautiful 
stories, etc., 182; what morality 
is, 183; teacher's responsibility, 
183 ; discipline of school, 183-185 ; 
punctuality, etc., 184, 185 ; par- 
ents' assistance, 185 ; social duties 
of school children, 185, 186 ; teach- 
er's respect for law, 186-188 ; cor- 
poral punishment abolished, 187; 
self-culture the aim of education, 
187 ; danger of prizes and medals, 
188 ; teacher's influence on school 
morals, 188. 

School officers, assumption of teach- 
ers' rights, 62, 63; Authority of, 
61; Difficulties of, 65; Dignity 
necessary to, 69; Duties of, 55-70; 
duty of cooperation, 64; Horace 
Mann, on power of, 61 note; in- 
fluence on Reading Circles, 278 
mistakes in judgment, 67-69 
Necessary qualifications of, 67, 68 
no legal right to play teacher, 62 
not teachers, 60 ; Personal respon- 
sibility of, 65, 66 ; Powers and 
duties of, 57 ; powers given by law, 
60 ; propriety of official advice, 63 ; 



Relations of teachers to, 51-54; 
scholarship not necessary, 67, 68; 
Supt. Marble on power of, 60 note. 

School regulations. Character of, 61. 

Schoolhouse, Arrangement of, 82- 
100. 

Schoolmaster in Literature, The, 275. 

Schools, Absence of mystery about, 
46, 47 ; Ancient, 56 ; Appointments 
nepessary to, 70; Chartered, 58; 
Classification in, 14, 20, 21 ; Disci- 
pline of, 183-185 ; Environment of, 
34-36 ; False standard of excellence 
for, 13, 14 ; for training librarians, 
180; Importance of, 13; Mediaeval, 
58 ; Moral training in, 181-183 ; 
Neatness in, 38 ; Sanitary con- 
ditions of, 35, 36. 

Scott, Sir Walter, Extract from, 135 ; 
novels in connection with history, 
169. 

Scripture proper names, 155. 

Selections for Arbor Day exercises, 
130-140. 

Self-culture, the aim of education, 
187. 

Shades, Advantages and disadvan- 
tages of, 79, 80. 

Shakspeare, William, Extract from, 
133; Familiarity with, 33; Words 
used by, 148 note. 

Shenstone, Wm., Extract from, 300. 

Sills, Height of, 80, 81, 97. 

Site of school, 73, 74. 

Skeleton leaves, 143, 144. 

Sketch Book, Irving's, 263. 

Skinner, Hubert M., on Reading Cir- 
cle work, 272, 273 ; on state organ- 
ization, 274, 275. 

Skirmishes and Sketches, Gail Ham- 
ilton's, 163, 164. 

Slang, Use of, 166. 

Small and Vincent's Introduction to 
the Study of Society, Extract from, 
303, 304. 

Smart, Dr. James H., Books and 
Reading for the Young, 169, 170. 

Smith, Jolin, Histoj^y of Virginia, 
260. 

Social culture, Importance of, 191. 

Social duties of school children, 185. 

Social powers. Teachers as, 303-305. 

Socrates, ancient teacher, 58. 

South Dakota Pupils' Reading Cir- 
cle, 291; representative courses, 
294, 295. 

Speaking, Manner of, 194, 195. 

Special functions of teacher, 61, 62. 

Speer, H. C, on Teachers' Reading 
Circles, 288. 



INDEX 



335 



Spelling, Webster's Rules for, 151. 

Spij, The, Cooper's, 263. 

Stairs in school building, 100. 

Star Spangled Banner, 232, 233. 

" Starvation" Dundas, 155. 

State Association Meetings, 66. 

State Reading Circles, First, 269- 
271. 

State Superintendent, Influence on 
Teachers' Institute, 258. 

Statesmen, Birthdays of noted, 228 ; 
Five great, 262. 

Steam heating, 114, 115. 

Stellar Worlds in connection with 
reading, 169. 

Stoddard, Richard Henry, Extract 
from, 132. 

Stoi^ of the Nations, Value of, 175. 

Stove, Position of, 93, 94, 98. 

Stowe, H. B., Birthday of, 212 ; Char- 
acters of, 176 ; Work of, 264. 

Street literature, Evil effects of, 164. 

Substitutions in abbreviations, 158. 

Suggestions, for Flag Presentation 
Day, 229-235 ; for plant collections 
in schools, 140-146, 

Sumner, Charles, Birthday of, 228; 
Character of, 262. 

Sumner, Prof. William G., on juvenile 
literature, 165-167. 

Superintendent, Influence of County 
and State, 258, 259. 

Supervision, when beneficial, 63. 

Supplies, Necessity of, 69, 70. 

Swiss Family Robinson, in connec- 
tion with Geography, 169. 

Syllabication, 152, 153. 

Syllogisms, 306 note. 

Sympathy between teachers and par- 
ents, 11-13, 25, 26. 

Synonyms in English, 148 ; Books of, 
160. 

Tact of teacher, 48-50. 

Tales of a Traveler, living's, 263. 

Taylor, Bayard, Birthday of, 212. 

Teacher, appointment by principal, 
64; as business man, 308, 309; as 
patriot, 309, 310 ; as philanthropist, 
310-313 ; as specialist, 30, 31 ; atti- 
tude towards Reading Circles, 278, 
279; Authority of, 59-63; Bad influ- 
ence of tyrannical, 186, 187 ; Difii- 
culties of, 11, 23-25 ; Duties of, 16, 
45-54 ; see Duties of teacher ; Ideal, 
299; in mediaeval schools, 58; in 
place of parent, 57, 58 ; in relation to 
state, 300, 301 ; in society, 313-315 ; 
Inadequate compensation of, 28- 
34 ; Influence of cultured, 192 ; influ- 



ence on national development, 315, 
316 ; Instrumental and professional 
knowledge of, 243; knowledge of 
educational values, 244; Lines of 
study for, 245, 246 ; member of In- 
stitute, 259; Mentor most signifi- 
cant term for, 299; necessity of 
tact, 48-50, 307, 308 ; need of con- 
tact with other teachers, 32 ; need 
of good supplies, 70 ; need of libra- 
ries, 32, 33, 34 ; Nervous strain on, 
31 ; Obligation of parent towards, 
26, 27; of ancient times, 56; Per- 
sonal influence of, 301-303 ; Powers 
and duties of, 56-59; Primary, 
30; Professional, 16; Rank of, 
268; relations to school-officers, 
51-54 ; Requirements of, 29, 31, 32, 
33 ; Requisites for good, 240, 242 ; 
respect for law, 186-188 ; responsi- 
bility in school morals, 183, 188; 
Rooms for, 98, 102 ; Salary of, 66, 
67; Shortcomings of, 15, 16; Spe- 
cific duties of, 58, 59 ; Underesti- 
mating services of, 26, 27. 
Teachers' Institute, 239-264; distinc- 
tion between it and normal school, 
239, 240; defined, 240; knowledge, 
method, and true spirit, 240-242; 
instrumental and professional 
knowledge, 242-244 ; psychology 
and teaching, 243, 244 ; educational 
values, 244; limitations of teach- 
ers' institute, 246, 247 ; reviews, 
profitable and unprofitable, 247, 
248; danger of quibbling, 247, 248; 
advantages of professional instruc- 
tion, 249 ; suggestions for instruc- 
tion in geography, 249; school 
management, 249, 250 ; psychology 
applied to teaching, 250, 251 ; class 
and lecture instruction, 251, 252; 
typical work, 252 ; ideal two weeks' 
course, 253 ; difliculties to be met, 
grading, indifference, etc., 253- 
255 ; aims of the institute, 255, 256; 
evening lectures, 256; academic 
instruction, 257; Development of 
the institute, 257, 258 ; influence of 
state and county superintendents, 

258, 259 ; manuals, 258 ; members, 
259; special topics of instruction, 
260 ; topical exercise on American 
literature, 260-264; how affected 
by Reading Circles, 274. 

Teachers' Reading Circles, 33, 49, 

259, 267-288 ; a permanent institu- 
tion, 276, 277; Allen (Dr. J.) on, 
271, 272; apathy of teachers, 276; 
discussion of work, 271-273 ; first 



336 



SCHOOL INTEBEST8 AND DUTIES 



State Eeading Circles, 269-271; 
helped to develop American peda- 
gogical literature, 275 ; local meet- 
ings, 280, 281 ; Maintenance of, 275 ; 
Notes on Teachers' Eeading Circles, 
283-288; Origin of, 277; Parker, Col., 
on, 268 ; past decade in education, 
269 ; period of probation, 275, 276 ; 
present trend of work, 282, 283; 
School officers' and teachers' atti- 
tude towards, 278, 279; Skinner, 
(H. M.) on, 273; State organiza- 
tion, 274, 275 ; trade and profession 
of teaching, 267, 268; value of 
work, 279, 280. 

Teacher's relation to public opinion, 
299-316; ideal teacher, 299, 300; 
teacher and state, 300, 301; per- 
sonal influence, 301-303; guiding 
center in society, 303, 304; inter- 
action of personal influence, 304, 
305; practical results, 305-307; 
public opinion relating to school, 
307, 308; teacher as man of busi- 
ness, patriot, etc., 308-316. 

Teaching, profession and trade, 267. 

Temperature of room, Normal, 111. 

Tennyson, Familiarity with, 33. 

Terminations, derived from Anglo- 
Saxon and Norman French, 154. 

Text-books, 64, 65. 

Thackeray, Characters of, 176. 

Thanksgiving Day, 207. 

Theological phase in American Lit- 
erature, 261. 

Thompson, D'Arcy, on the teacher 
in society, 314. 

Titles, Indiscriminate use of, 196. 

Toilet, arrangements for, 102. 

Tom Taylor's Tribute to Lincoln, 
225-227. 

Trollope, Characters of, 176. 

Typical knowledge, 247, 248. 

U, Elimination of letter, 151. 
Uncle Tom's Cabin, Mrs. Stowe's, 
264. 

Value of Reading Circle work, 279. 
Ventilation of schools, see School 

Hygiene, 105-117. 
Vestibules, Position of, 86, 87. 
Videlicet, Abbreviation of, 158. 
Virtues, Mechanical, 184, 185. 

Walker, Francis A., on juvenile lit- 
erature, 167. 



Wardrobes, Arrangement of, 98, 99; 
in city schools, 102; in country 
schools, 87, 88. 

Washington, George, Birthday of, 
228 ; Programme for birthday of, 
214; Suggestions for birthday of, 
213 ; Teachers of, 300. 

Washington's Rules of Civility, 202- 
206. 

Waste pipes in school buildings, 87. 

Water, in relation to school hygiene, 

120. 
Waverley, Characters of, 176. 

Way land, Francis, on juvenile liter- 
ature, 167. 

Webster, D., Birthday of, 228 ; char- 
acteristics of, 262 ; Extracts from 
speeches of, 233, 234, 300, 301. 

Webster, Noah, Work of, 264. 

Webster's Dictionary, as standard, 
150-152; International, 155, 159. 
Pictorial, 160; Unabridged, 155. 

White, Dr. Emerson E., on fairy 
tales and fables, 177; on teacher's 
authority, 59-63. 

Whittier, John G., Birthday of, 213; 
Extracts from, 27, 132; Study of, 
262. 

Williams, Delia L., on Teachers' 
Reading Circles, 286. 

Willis, N. P., Extract from, 134. 

Winans, George W., on Teachers' 
Reading Circles, 287, 288. 

Window openings in schoolrooms, 
75, 76, 77. 

Window sills, Height of, 80, 81, 97. 

Wood, Alphouso, on plants, 145, 146. 

Woodshed, Position of, 92, 93. 

Woolsey, Theodore D., on juvenile 
literature, 167. 

Worcester's Dictionary, 264. 

Words, AbbreAaations and contrac- 
tions of, 157, 158; derived from 
Anglo-Saxon and Norman French 
153, 154; Ethics of, 147-149 
Hybrid, 154, 155; Misuse of, 149 
Order of meanings of, 151, 152 
Origin and history of, 153-155 
Pronunciation of, 158, 159. 

Wordsworth,William, Extracts from, 
39, 53, 131. 

Wright, E., Extract from, 134, 135. 

Ye, used for the, 158. 
Youl, Extract from, 138. 
Young, J. B., on Pupils' Reading 
Circles, 290. 



